Hooded
by onceuponaswan2
Summary: Emma is back in Storybrooke after the Evil Queen trapped her in a wish realm. But soon everything begins to crumble as she battles Gideon and the fact that she may be having a baby soon adds much to her stress.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"I'm so glad you're back, love. David was really starting to get on my nerves and he's not a great person to watch Netflix with," Hook glances at David from across Granny's.

After the siege and rescue of Emma from the whacky dream world the Evil Queen trapped her in, everyone gathered at Granny's for a celebratory dinner. Not like Emma was surprised. Having been put through a lot to get back home, all Emma wants to do is go home and sleep. Her stomach has been feeling weird for a week or two. Maybe it was the portal she went through. Some people get sea sick, but apparently Emma gets portal sick.

She places her hand on her stomach as Mary Margaret comes walking towards her carrying Neal. He lets out a happy shriek, reaching out towards Hook. Emma raises an eyebrow at that surprising turn in events. She glances at Hook, wondering how he feels about holding her baby brother. He hasn't exactly been around babies much.

"I-" Mary Margaret hands Neal to Hook despite his hesitation. It's just like how he was with Ashley's baby, but he turned out to be a natural. It seems like the babies of Storybrooke are drawn to Captain Hook.

Emma grabs her little brother's hand, thankful to be back in her old life. Her real life. Princess Emma wasn't her best look. Especially because nothing was the same. The scars that she has is who makes her who she is. She isn't some princess who wears frilly dresses and has maids serve her dinner. That's not the kind of lifestyle she ever had or imagined of having. Of course had the curse not happened, that would have been her actual life. However, she's happy with the life she's had the past almost thirty-two years. It's what makes her who she is.

"How does it feel to be back?" her mom asks her.

Emma shrugs, giving Neal's hand a quick kiss. "Like a dream. Everything in that world was weird, and I'm happy to be home."

"So being a princess wasn't how you thought it would be?" David joins the conversation.

Soon everyone is gathered around Emma waiting for her to them all about her adventures as Princess Emma. There are multiple questions being hurled her way and her head starts to spin. She grabs out to hold onto the counter beside her. Hook starts to reach towards her, but realizes he still has Neal in his arms. Thankfully Henry is there to steady her.

"Are you okay, Mom?" Henry asks.

"Love?" Hook hands Neal back to Mary Margaret, grabbing ahold of Emma's hand. It has started to shake like when she has her visions.

She grasps Hook's hand. "I'm okay. Just overwhelmed. A lot happened."

Regina bursts through the front door suddenly with Robin Hood in tow. A glass drops from somewhere within the diner at the sight of him. Hook looks up with a confused face. Zelena glances up from where she sits feeding baby Robyn.

"Bloody hell," Hook mutters.

"What-How?" Zelena asks in disbelief.

Emma shifts so she's leaning against the counter. Her mom looks towards her in surprise.

Regina walks him over to the crowd where people begin to embrace him. "It's complicated…"

"That's putting it lightly. He's not the same Robin, is he?" Zelena asks.

Regina shakes her head. "Like I said, it's complicated."

Baby Robyn starts wailing when wish realm Robin goes near her. Zelena backs away from him. Then Belle and Rumple are running into the diner with panicked faces. Belle's face is white and there are tears in her eyes.

"Our son-" Belle breaths out. "Gideon is here."

Emma's eyebrow arches. When she left, Belle had given her son to Mother Superior. He was supposed to be somewhere far away from Storybrooke. Then again, she didn't expect to see Rumple and her together. They weren't exactly on the best terms when she left.

"Your son?"

Belle faces Emma, face paling even more. "Our s-son is here for you, Emma."

"What do you mean?" she lets go of Hook's hand. "He's a baby."

Rumple steps in. "The black fairy took him and used an aging spell to age him quite some years."

Emma presses him. "What do you consider quite some time?"

Belle and Rumple exchange looks. "About twenty or so," Rumple says.

"What does he want?" Hook asks, crossing his arms against his chest.

"He wants to…" Belle's voice catches in her throat. "He's here to kill Emma."

Emma steps back from Belle, hitting the counter behind her. Hook puts his hand to his forehead, stepping to Emma for support. She shakes away from his grasp, running out the front door. The rings of her name being shouted resonates through the night sky. Emma puts a hand against her face, the cool air hitting her as she stares into a blackened abyss. The sound of the wind whistling through the night sky. A tear slips from her eyes.

A lone figure looms under the street light a few feet from her. Emma retracts the gun she keeps in her belt out in front of her. "Whoever you are, show yourself."

A young man, ten or so years younger than her, comes into view. He has the same eyes as Belle. Her hands click the bullet into place. She starts walking toward the figure, but he's gone. Emma lets out every cuss word she's ever heard.

She doubles over in pain, resisting the urge to throw up in the middle of the street. Standing back up, she turns around and sees someone in her peripheral vision. She hoists her gun in front of her at the figure. "Don't move," she threatens.

The figure holds their hands up. They step into the lights and Emma lowers her gun when she sees Hook standing before her. She lets the gun drop from her hands as he gathers her into a tight hug. She rests her head against his shoulder, eyes darting around the street for the figure with Belle's eyes. Someone is out there waiting to murder. And not just anyone, the Dark One's son who's magically aged over twenty years in a few hours.

"It's okay, Swan." He slides his hand down her arm. "I'm not going to let anyone hurt you. Ever."

"It's not that simple," she whispers more to herself than anyone.

David comes running out of Granny's too with his gun pointed into the darkness. "I heard some screaming. Well, more like I heard a few words not suitable for Henry and the children inside."

He notices Emma and Hook holding onto each other and smiles at them. Hook releases Emma, slapping David on the shoulder in a friendly gesture. "Put that thing away before someone gets hurt."

"Says the man with a hook as a hand," David retorts.

Emma watches the two men exchange quips with an amused smile on her face. "Seems like you two got close while I was gone. Do I see a bromance forming?"

David rolls his eyes at his daughter while Hook glares back at Emma. She raises her hands in innocent. "Hey, just stating what I'm hearing."

"Come on, Swan," Hook holds his hand out for her to take. "Let's go grab some grilled cheese and onion rings."

"Please. No offense, Dad, but castle food just wasn't for me," Emma laughs as she follows her boyfriend into the diner.


	2. Chapter 2

**Might as well get as much writing done before my winter break ends! Thanks for reading and love reading comments! I didn't think anyone would read this, so appreaciated! xoxo-Madeline**

Emma listens to her family as they hound her with questions of the wish realm. They're all trying to distract her from the fact there's a grown man baby on the hunt to murder her. She doesn't even know when he'll strike.

The only thing she knows is that she feels like she's about to pass out. She shifts in the booth, causing Hook to take notice of her uneasiness. "Emma?"

She shakes her head. "I'm fine; I'm just tired and want to go home."

David watches his daughter from across the table with worry in his eyes. "You should get some rest, Emma."

"I think I'll get going. I'm glad you and mom broke the curse. I don't understand how, but I'm glad."

Mary Margaret puts her hand over David's. "One second I was asleep and then I was awake. At the same time David was. We don't know how it happened either."

Emma slides out of the both, trying her best to regain her composure. Hook starts to get up, but she stops him. "I need be alone for some time."

Hook hesitates. "That's not a good idea, Swan."

"I just…please."

Not liking it, Hook sits back down, watching as Emma exits the diner. She walks to the convenient store with her arms wrapped around her waist. She can't believe what she's about to do, but she knows this isn't some stomach pain. As much as she wants to deny it, it isn't the common flu that she hopes it is. The feeling was one she remembers while locked up in prison.

Making sure nobody sees her, she sneaks to the feminine products. Her hands shake as she reaches for a pregnancy test. Her stomach twists and a tear springs to her eye.

"Emma," a voice says from behind her.

She jumps, startled at the voice. Turning to see who caught her with the pregnancy test in hand, she's relieved to see it be Archie. He's one of the only habitants of Storybrooke who won't blab their mouth upon seeing her with pregnancy tests in hand. "Archie, you scared me."

"How are you?" he asks, looking pointedly at the pregnancy tests.

Emma bites down on her lip. "I honestly don't know. A lot has been happening and now this," she gestures to the box. "This couldn't come at a more stressful time."

Archie's eyes are sad. "You know my office is always open, Emma. With your visions and now possibly expecting a child, I think it's important that you have someone to talk to. Sometimes even those closest to us won't be able to help."

Emma nods her head, willing the tears she feels to go away. She will not cry. "Thank you. Excuse me, I have to-" she doesn't finish her sentence because he nods in an understanding way.

Paying quickly, she heads to her bug which is thankfully where she left it before she got swept away by a magic lamp. She lets out a loud sigh at the recent events. Just another day of being the Savior. Nothing is ever simple. Nothing will ever be simple again. Unfortunately, simplicity doesn't exist when you're the Savior. Everyone else gets their happy endings but the Savior.

Arriving at her and Hook's house. She drops the bag on the kitchen counter and takes the box upstairs to her bathroom. The covers are untouched, as if Hook didn't bother to sleep while she was gone. Then again, she was only gone about a day Storybrooke time. Hook was probably on the Jolly Roger, clearing his head.

Emma looks into the mirror. Her hair is done in a braid that Princess Emma fashioned. She unties it from her hair, letting her waves cascade down her back. The makeup she's wearing is not how Storybrooke Emma would apply. It's exactly how a precious princess would apply it: rosy cheeks, red lips and light eye shadow.

"Okay," she takes the stick out of the box. "Maybe it's a false alarm. Maybe it's just food poisoning or something."

She takes the test and lies it on a tissue on the sink to wait for the results. To keep herself busy, Emma walks down to the kitchen to start brewing a cup of coffee. She reaches for the caffeinated coffee, but thinks about the test upstairs and grabs the decafe coffee instead.

Watching as the last drop of coffee drips into the coffee pot, she lets it cool and walks back upstairs. She sucks in a breath, but then she hears the front door open and the sound of Hook calling for her. Panicking, she holds the test behind her back as Hook peeks his head into the bathroom.

"Are you okay?"

Clamping her mouth, she nods. "Yeah."

He regards her warily, not believing her response. "Emma, I know when you're lying to me. I think you forget, love, that I'm actually quite perceptive."

She rolls her eyes at him. "Killian…I'll be out in a second, okay?"

He closes the door behind him and she looks down at the test. Two pink lines. Emma covers her mouth with her hand, suppressing the sob she feels rising from within her. This cannot be happening. Wordlessly and noiselessly dropping to the ground, she presses both of her hands against her head. Shaking it off, she buries the test under tissues in the wastebasket. Now's not the time to drop this bomb on Hook. Plus, it's too early. Pregnancy tests aren't always known to be one hundred percent accurate. She'll schedule an appointment with Whale next week to make sure she really is pregnant.

Hook is taking off his shoes on the bed when she walks out of the bathroom. Crawling across the bed to rest her head on his shoulder from behind, she lets out a content sigh. "I missed you."

Hook shifts slightly. "I'm so glad you're okay."

Emma kisses his neck. "You were there you know."

He turns around and Emma leans back against the head board as she watches Hook move to her side. "I was?"

Emma laughs lightly, remembering the wish realm version of Hook she met. "Remember the version of you when we went back in time?"

"Remember? Love, that was who I was."

She runs her hand over his vest, and he catches her hand in his, threading their fingers together. He presses a kiss to her hand. "Well, you were like that in this realm too. Except-" she swallows, the pain of meeting wish realm Hook all too vivid in her head. "You couldn't stand me or even look at me."

A tear slides down her cheek. Hook's eyes look down at their entwined hands. "He seems like a sad excuse of a man. Swan, you're back. That life doesn't matter. This is your life. Here and now. You're stuck with me."

The tears pour from her tear ducts, unable to hide the stress she feels for much longer. "I was afraid I was never going to see you again. When I did wake up from everything, it's when I met you. I thought I was never going to see you again. You were engaged!" She chokes out.

He gathers her in his arms, letting her cry onto his shoulder. His hand runs through her hair, and she continues to whimper against him. She cries until she falls asleep and Hook tucks her under the covers. He slips off the bed to use the bathroom. As he walks inside, he notices a box on the bathroom sink.

Picking up the box, he reads it. "Bloody hell."


	3. Chapter 3

Hook stands in the bathroom, digesting what he's just seen. He may be a simple pirate, but he knows one thing and that's how to read. No, he may not know how these pregnancy sticks work, but he can draw two and two together.

Walking out of the room, he sees Emma asleep, tucked under the covers. His eyes go to her stomach, but then he realizes she probably wouldn't be showing yet. Then again, he had no idea how far along she was. They had been so careful.

Grabbing his jacket, he jogs down the stairs, careful not to awake Emma. He needs to clear his head. Having a child is a huge responsibility. If he's anything like his father, he'll make an awful father himself. He doesn't want to put his child through what he had gone through. He can't bring a baby into the world knowing what he knows. And Emma. She also had a rough childhood. How is she handling this news?

It's close to eleven at night. The streets are quiet with only a few stragglers in the street near the Rabbit Hole. Hook finds himself standing in the entrance of the bar. Usually he doesn't make a point to go to a bar now that he's with Emma. Back in the Enchanted Forest, the tavern near the port was practically his second home.

Sitting at the bar, he orders a shot of rum. He needs something to take his mind off what he just saw. As the bartender slides him the glass, he looks up to see Belle a few seats away from him. She looks forlorn. Not that he blames her; she just found out her son aged twenty something years and is a murderer. He would be daft too.

"Killian," Belle waves to him. "What are you doing here?"

He stands to make his way over to her and sits down on the stool beside her. "I could be asking the same of you, love. Are you here alone?"

She nods her head, sipping from her drink. "I don't know what to do. I can't stay with Rumple, and then there's the fact that my son is a villain. Why are you here though? Emma just came back; you should be with her."

"I just found out a secret she's been keeping from me that I don't know what to do with," he contemplates telling her what he found. If anyone would understand, it would be Belle.

Belle cocks her head at him, question in her eyes. "That's very vague."

"Aye," Hook gestures to the bartender for another glass of rum. "Emma…" he looks around to make sure nobody else is around to overhear. "She took a pregnancy test."

Both of Belle's eyebrows shoot up in surprise. "She's pregnant. With your child?"

"Bloody hell, of course it's my child!" he bites out. He softens, realizing his outburst. Belle doesn't deserve to be yelled at after everything she's been going through. "I'm sorry. I just-I can't be a father."

"Why do you say that? You love Emma more than I have ever seen someone love anyone. I have no doubt that love won't follow with your child," she says.

At least someone thinks so. He's not too sure. "Two rums," he says to the bartender, sliding the other glass to Belle. He doesn't want to talk about any of this.

Emma awakes to an empty bed. She glances at the clock to see it's twenty minutes past midnight. The house is eerily quiet. Getting out of bed, she goes into the bathroom and her eyes meet the box. Panicking, she runs down the stairs, calling out Hook's name as she goes. No response. Putting a hand to her head, she blinks back tears. He saw the box. He saw it and he ran.

Of course he would. They've never even talked about having kids. Hell, they weren't even engaged. He just came back from the Underworld not too long ago. Then Hyde brought a bunch of drama with him and the Evil Queen decided to wreak havoc in Storybrooke. Believe it or not, a conversation about having a baby didn't really fit into that timeline.

Sitting at the kitchen table overlooking the night sky, she lets the tears roll down her face. She swipes them away, closing her eyes as she thinks what she will do. Adoption is always an option. But she was all too familiar with the foster care and adoption system. She couldn't do that to another child. Not after she did the same thing with Henry. Thankfully, Regina was there for Henry when she couldn't.

She can do this. With or without Hook, she can do this. She won't let her baby be raised by someone else. For once, she's going to be brave and have this baby.

An hour goes when she hears the front door open. Hook stumbles into the kitchen. His face breaks into a smile when he sees Emma sitting at the table with a coffee mug in between her hands.

"I thought we said no more secrets, Swan," he slurs.

Emma hasn't really ever seen Hook drunk. Only a handful of times before they were together and only in the beginning of their relationship. He's usually able to hold his liquor a little better than this. She regards him with annoyance. She doesn't want to be having this conversation at one in the morning. Especially when he's in this state. It'd be like talking to a five year old who's throwing a hissy fit.

"Killian, you're drunk," she puts her hand on his shoulder. "You need to go to bed."

"I will," he leans into her, whispering, "I want you to come with."

She rolls her eyes. "Considering we sleep in the same bed, I'll be there."

His hand moves to her stomach, resting it there. "She's going to be so loved, Swan. I'll love her as much as I love her beautiful mother."

Emma's eyes water. She thought he escaped because he didn't want to be with her or the baby. Hearing him say those words make her feel so much better. Even if he isn't sober. But she knows that he's always been much more open when he's had too much to drink. Once he admitted to her that he wanted David to like him because he thought they could be really good mates. It was a pretty weird conversation now that she's looking back on it.

"You want to stay?" Emma asks him, tears clouding her vision.

Hook continues to rub small circles on her stomach. "I want you. And with that comes a child who will be just like you. I promise Emma, I will not be like my father."

The tears streak down her face. "You'll be such a good dad, Killian. I love you."

He brings his hand to caress her cheek. "I love you, Swan."

Their lips connect at once. It's a mix of tears and passion. Hook deepens the kiss, but Emma pulls away. They rest their foreheads against each other. "You taste like rum and it's upsetting my stomach."

He smiles a wicked smile.

"You and the baby should get some rest," Hook leads her by her hand up to the bedroom.


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry for any errors! I've has to wake up at 6am this week for work. Working Christmas retail takes a lot out of ya! Hope you're still enjoying this fic and thanks for reading! xoxo**

"It's only been three days and I'm ready to kill him," Emma says while drinking a cup of hot chocolate.

Mary Margaret sits across from her daughter with a small smile on her face. "Ah come on, Emma. He's never gone through this before; he's probably freaking out."

Emma contemplates it. While her mother sees Hook's constant hovering as cute, Emma finds it annoying. Especially when she brews a cup of coffee and Hook replaces it with a cup of tea. He's been reading a bunch of pregnancy pamphlets lately. Because of said pamphlets, he's taking everything quite literally.

"I just wish he would let me pee without knocking to make sure I didn't go into early child birth. I haven't even gone into the doctor's yet for goodness sake!" Emma throws her hands up. "Speak of the devil."

Hook walks through the door, the door slamming shut behind him. It's a bit windy in Storybrooke today. Almost like a huge storm is about to take effect. He doesn't see Emma tucked away in the booth in the back. She slinks down in her seat to try to hide from. She knows it's unfair to do to him, but she wants some space and quiet. She doesn't want to hear about cramps anymore. Or what she can and cannot eat.

"Hey, Granny," he sits down at one of the stools. "Can I get an order or grilled cheese and onion rings?"

Granny yells to the cooks in the back to get the order started. "To-go?"

"Yeah. Emma's been working all day and I wanted her to come home to something she loves. Besides myself, of course," he teases.

Now Emma feels bad for texting him she couldn't go to Granny's because she was tied up at work. Deciding to face the music, she goes up to him, but another girl moves in. She sits down beside him, flipping her blonde hair over her shoulder. Hook doesn't pay attention to her until she places a hand on his shoulder. Emma grips onto her mug too tightly and her hands start sparking. This pregnancy is causing her magic to go frantic. Mary Margaret looks between Emma's hands to the girl's hand on Hook's shoulder. He shrugs her off.

Emma gets up from her seat as she hears the girl say "what's a man like you doing without a woman at his side?"

Just then, Emma goes up from behind Hook, snaking her arms around his neck. "Hey, babe." She kisses his cheek, whispering in his ear but loud enough for the girl to hear, "I was so cold this morning without you beside me in bed. I missed you."

The girl's eyebrow perks and she leans against the counter. "Oh."

"Yeah, oh," Emma says. "If you ever lay a hand on my boyfriend again-"

"Swan," Hook puts his hand on Emma's cheek. "It's okay."

The girl purses her lips. "Yeah, Savior."

Emma starts to get up, but Hook holds her down with his hand. "I suggest you leave before she kicks your ass."

They watch as the girl rolls her eyes and walks away. Emma's hands start to shake and her magic starts flaring again. She places them on the table in an attempt to calm her hands. At least the visions aren't coming again. It must be the pregnancy messing with that too. Not that she minds; nobody really wants to see themselves die constantly in a vision that predicts their future.

"I thought you were at work," Hook comments, completely ignoring the scene that just played out.

Emma glances back at Mary Margaret. "My mom needed me so I left work early."

"I thought we agreed we wouldn't lie to each other, Emma. If you feel like I'm smothering you, just tell me."

"Okay," she nods in agreement. "You're smothering me!"

He looks taken aback even though he gave her the clear to express how she feels. Standing from the stool, his jaw ticks. "Well, I leave you to your space."

Groaning, she watches him walk from the diner. Granny sets the bag of her food in front of her. Mary Margaret walks over to where she sits and sits beside her. "Emma…"

"Before you give a speech about how I handled all of this wrong, save it. I already know."

Her mother stays silent. "I was just going to tell you that I understand. But I do think it could have been handled a bit differently."

Emma groans before grabbing the bag and heading outside. Her car is parked on the side of the road. Hook couldn't have gone too far since he's presumably on foot. However, as she drives the two miles to their house, he's nowhere in sight. Maybe he went someone before going home. Jogging up the stairs, she enters the house to see Henry sitting at the table with Hook across from him. Henry's drinking hot chocolate as Hook tilts back his flask.

"Hey, Mom!" Henry says.

"Hi, kid." Emma realizes that she hasn't told Henry about the baby. Actually, the only person she's told was her mom. Telling her dad may be a little complicated at the moment.

Hook continues drinking his rum, not looking at her. So, he's a little more hurt than she thought he would be. Sometimes she forgets that just because he's a pirate, doesn't mean he doesn't have feelings too.

She kisses Hook on the cheek when she passes him. "What would you boys like for dinner?"

"Tacos!" Henry says.

Emma scrunches her nose. The last time she made tacos, she caught he parents in a compromising position. Tacos have never been the same again. However, the baby seems to be responding positively to tacos. When she was pregnant with Henry, she was constantly craving Mexican food. Seeing as she was in jail at the time, her cravings often went unnoticed. Now she has a life and a family to cook her cravings for. The perks of being a free woman.

Obviously Henry has chosen to block out the memory. Emma wish she could do the same. "Sounds good to me. Killian?"

"It's fine, love. Whatever you and the baby want."

Her mouth drops open and she looks at Hook to see the look on his face. He pauses before shifting his gaze to Henry who looks shocked.

"The what?" Henry asks dumbfounded.

Giving Hook a narrow glance, she places her hand over her still flat stomach. "Well, we weren't planning on telling anyone until I went to see Whale tomorrow."

"You're really having a baby? As in, I'm going to be a big brother?" his face breaks into a large smile.

Thankfully Henry has taken a momentary break from being his typical moody teenage self. This whole time she was worried how Hook would react to the news that she didn't even think about Henry's reaction. She was keeping this baby while she hadn't kept him. Henry's always been a good kid though. She's not surprised that he would be so happy to the news of having a new baby sister or brother.

"Yeah, kid. You are." Henry jumps from his seat and hugs her.

He pulls back with the smile still plastered across his face. "Let's just hope the baby doesn't have Killian's rum addiction."

This sparks Hook's attention. "It's not an addiction, mate."

Emma ignores his comment, focusing on how happy Henry is. He starts talking about the name of the baby and whether or not it'll be a boy or a girl. His gut is telling him she'll definitely have a girl this time around. As he continues talking, they make the tacos together. Hook still sulks at the table while drinking his rum. They eat and Henry retreats to his room upstairs for the night. Since it's Friday, he stays over the weekend. Regina has him during the week and every other weekend. It wouldn't be fair of Emma to move Henry out of the house he grew up in.

After cleaning the kitchen, Emma and Hook retreat to their room. Emma's folding the laundry as Hook starts undressing. She puts her clothes in her drawer and admires Hook's bare back. The tattoo on his wrist still pains her to see it. Then again, any other woman would be annoyed to see their boyfriend with another woman's name on his body.

"I think we need to talk," Emma sits down on the bed. "About what we said tonight."

"We?" he turns around. "I believe the talking was all on your part."

Emma crosses her arms against her chest, growing annoyed with how he's acting. "Why are you being like this?"

"You tell me, Emma," he bites. "I don't want to smother you."

"Really? You're going to act like this!"

He throws back the covers. "I'm sorry, love. Can we just go to sleep?"

She grabs the covers from his hands. "No. We're going to talk about this now. And what's up with you telling Henry like that? You know I wanted to tell everyone when the time was right."

"Which was when? We both know that you're putting this off until the last minute. It's almost like you're ashamed to be having a child with Captain bloody Hook."

That comment sets her insides on fire. "How could I be ashamed?" she wails. "I love you! I've never been as happy as I am and it's because of you! So don't you dare tell me that I'm ashamed of you!"

Hook gathers her in his arms as she sobs. "Emma, I don't deserve you." He kisses her atop her head.

"No," she sniffs. "You don't, but you're stuck with me whether you like it or not."

"I wouldn't have it any other way," he whispers as she settles into him. Her eyes flutter shut against him and he lies her down, covering her with the blankets. Her hair spreads across the pillow and her admires her. He always knew she was beautiful, but now that she's carrying his baby, she's even more beautiful. He didn't know that was possible.

"I love you, Emma Swan." He shuts off the light and gathers her in his arms, falling fast asleep.


	5. Chapter 5

**Short chapter, but hope you all enjoy! Thanks for reading and as always, I love reading comments and seeing faves/follows. Disclaimer: apologies for grammar errors or my lack of pregnancy knowledge!**

Emma stares at her computer screen, but she can't get herself to do the actual work. She has her first doctor's appointment today. As soon as she walks through that door, the whole town will found out the news. Whale isn't one to keep secrets and walking into the hospital for an ultrasound is as obvious as it gets.

"You okay?" David asks her, leaning against the door to her office.

Emma looks up from her computer. Sighing, she leans back in her chair. "When you found out Mom was pregnant…well for the short time you had your memories, did you feel, um, hesitant?"

David regards Emma with curiosity. "It was scary, Emma. We didn't get to raise you so knowing we would have this baby who we had to raise was terrifying. Everyone gets scared when they're expecting a baby. Knowing you and Hook, the kid will grow up in good hands."

"You believe that?" Emma doesn't dwell on the fact that her dad actually paid Hook a compliment. With their rocky past, her dad hasn't been especially vocal with praising him. Even though they've put aside their differences for the sake of her.

"We both know I'm not one to hand out praise to Hook. So, yeah, I do believe it. Emma, you're the one who saved us all. Without you, we would still be cursed. You helped us find our way back, and I have no doubts you'll be a wonderful mother to this baby. Just like you have for Henry."

A tear slides down Emma's face. She's never been much of a crier-the pregnancy seems to be making her quite the crier though. David walks over to her, putting his hand on her shoulder. She grabs his hand in hers. Sometimes she wonders what it would have been like had she been cared for by David and Mary Margaret as a child. She wonders if she had the example of her parents, if she would be having these doubts about becoming a mother.

"Thanks, Dad."

David kisses Emma on top of her head. "Now go on and get to the hospital. Hook'll be waiting."

Emma gives her dad a hug before going outside to her bug. Sitting in the car for a moment, she finally turns the ignition. There's no going back now. She's having a baby. With Hook-her true love. She's broken a curse, slayed a dragon, defeated the Queens of Darkness, overcame darkness and went to Hell and back. A baby would be no problem. She could do this, and she wouldn't be doing it alone. Hook made it clear that he would be with her along the way of the pregnancy.

When she arrives at the hospital, she sees Hook sitting on the bench outside. She gives him a warm smile and he embraces her.

"Ready, Swan?"

Nodding, they walk hand-in-hand into the waiting room. Emma checks in at the front desk with the nurse. Glancing around the lobby, Emma is relieved to see nobody she knows in the waiting room. Until the front door whooshes open and in walks Will Scarlet. Great, the town's loud drunk. Hook looks just as annoyed as Emma as he reads through another pregnancy pamphlet. Also great; like Hook needs to read another pamphlet about what Emma can or cannot consume during her pregnancy.

"Emma! Hook!" Will says drunkenly.

Hook stands up to face Will. Emma decides to scurry over to them before a fight breaks out between the two men. They're not the best of friends. In fact, Emma's not sure who hates who more. She guesses it's an even tie.

"Will," Emma stands with her hands on her hips. "What are you doing here?"

"I could be asking the same of Hook and you. Here together. Hmmm could there be a baby cooking in your oven? Or whatever that bloody saying is."

Hook's jaw ticks and he clenches his hand. "Careful, mate or you might end up with another black eye."

Emma rolls her eyes. "I asked you a question first. Now, you'll either answer me or I send your ass to jail for public intoxication."

The smirk that was on Will's face is quickly gone as he starts to turn away.

"Will Scarlet?" The nurse calls out. He stills and looks sheepishly at the nurse before following after her into the examination room.

Emma and Hook watch him leave the waiting room, annoyance on their faces. Hook is the first to speak. "Your hormones kicking in, love?"

Emma jabs him in the gut with her elbow. "I swear of you say another word, I will-"

"There's the future mommy," Whale interrupts them with his goofy smile.

Emma resists the urge to elbow Whale in the gut as well. Hook isn't wrong though; her hormones seem to be taking on the tone of rage. She would much rather prefer to be crying over a morning talk show like she did the other morning. Next thing she knows, she'll be yelling at a poor little puppy.

Once they're settled in the room, Whale asks Emma to lift her shirt up so he can rub the gel on her stomach to better read the ultrasound. The gel is cool against Emma's stomach and she resist the urge to pull her shirt down and refuse more gel on her body. Hook's at her side, jaw ticking again.

"So former Dark One-" Whale starts but Hook cuts him off.

"You're one word away from getting a hook through you," he bites.

Emma rolls her eyes again. As much as she loves Hook, he uses the hook as a threat way too often. "Can we just get this over with without words of threat or of darkness?"

Whale complies with her demand for the rest of the appointment. She's now nine weeks pregnant and in a few weeks, they'll be able to tell the sex of their baby. Hook's face lights up like a Christmas tree upon seeing the baby moving around on the ultrasound. Emma remembers seeing her ultrasound of Henry, but this time is different. This time she's giving her baby its best chance with her. And Hook. She's not alone this time. All her rage dissolves from her as she looks at her baby on the screen.

"That's ours," Hook says with disbelief in his voice. She can tell he doesn't quite believe it still.

Emma extends her hand for him to take. Squeezing her hand in his, Whale shuts off the screen and tells them to make an appointment for 3 weeks from them. It'll be the end of her first trimester. They walk outside into the cool June air of Storybrooke.

"Where would you like to go?" Hook asks Emma as they walk up to her bug.

Emma wraps her arms around his neck. Kissing him gently on the neck. Her lips continue to travel, but Hook pulls back from her, quirking an eyebrow at her.

"Swan?"

Emma's eyes flash with mischief. "Bring me home, Captain."

"Hormones?" Hook asks with a chuckle.

This time Emma kisses him hungrily on the lips in answer.


	6. Chapter 6

**I know a lot of you wanted to see Gideon again, so he's coming back into play real soon. I had to set up how within this chapter. Hope you all enjoy (ps still haven't edited my works, so hope it's not a mess!). -Mads**

"Emma!" Belle runs into the police station with a book tucked under her arm.

Emma gets up from her chair where David and her are looking at the crime reports for the day. So far, one of the dwarves has managed to crash into someone's fence and Will Scarlet is walking around town drunk. Again.

"What's up?" Emma crosses her arms over her chest. Ever since Belle's child became a murderous man child, Emma has kept her distance from both Belle and Rumple. With her expecting a baby, it isn't safe. She has to protect her and Killian's unborn child at all costs. It's the first time she's let herself think about the man out to murder her.

Belle splays the book out on the table. "Gideon…" her voice shakes as she speaks. "May be her to enact the curse of all curses and that's why he needs to kill you."

David walks over to them, concern etched across his face. "What's the curse?"

"I don't know exactly. I've been reading this book of curses and I found one where it would banish us back to the Enchanted Forest with no memories of one another-"

"So like every other curse ever to be enacted," Emma chimes in.

Belle nods. "But with a twist. The book's page is torn out where it explains what makes this curse different than others. Which means my son must have the pages."

"We need to get those pages," Emma says. "Where would we be able to find him?"

David turns to Emma. "You're not thinking of finding him yourself? Emma, he wants to kill you!"

Emma calmly explains to her dad. "Exactly. My fate is to die already, so it's not putting me in any more danger than I already am. This way, I'll be able to stop him from cursing-"

"No way!" David roars. "The baby. Emma, Hook can't lose you and the baby. I forbid you from going."

"I was thinking of speeding up my pregnancy so the baby would be safe. Dad, I won't let this monster destroy everyone. I have to stop him."

Belle steps in between the father and daughter. "I agree with David, Emma. It's too dangerous for you as is speeding up your pregnancy. Rumple needs to find his son and we need to stop him. Not you."

Emma contemplates what Belle says, but she doesn't trust Rumple. He's never done anything for anyone but himself. She's not putting the town's safety in his hands. Especially the way he's been acting with the Evil Queen around. Who knows what he really has up his sleeve.

"I need to go somewhere," Emma grabs her leather jacket.

David grabs her by the arm. "Where are you going?"

"To get coffee and a go on a walk. I need to clear my head, and I can't do that here. I promise not to go after Gideon. Just please cover the station for the rest of the night," she tells her dad.

"Okay," he relents. She can see the conflict in his eyes, but they both know Emma will do what she wants. She always has when it comes to danger and her family. It's what being the Savior means; she has a duty to protect the ones she loves even if it means getting hurt herself.

Walking outside, Emma is struck by the coolness of the air. It's only 5 and she told Hook she would be home after 7. She has time to grab some coffee and go a walk. Except her walk will be to someone's house that she knows will help her. Someone who has enough wickedness in her heart to get the job done. Someone nobody in the town is trusting any longer. Zelena will have the answers. She's sure of it.

Clutching onto her decaf coffee, Emma stares up at Zelena's house. She hasn't been her since the day she saved Hook from drowning. The day she risked her magic for the man she thought she had hated. Turns out she didn't hate him nearly as much as she thought she did.

Emma has her hand up to knock on the door, but the door is whisked open as she's about to knock. Zelena is dressed in some green monstrosity holding baby Robyn. Emma smiles down at the baby, but her smile vanishes when she realizes she may never get to hold her and Hook's baby. Her sadness is replaces with determination as she walks into Zelena's house without waiting for an invitation.

"What's up with the Charmings always walking into my house uninvited?" she sneers. "So, Savior, what brings you here?"

Emma faces Zelena. "Let's be blunt right now. We don't like each other so there's no use in pretending that we do. But I need help and I need the help of someone who still may have some wickedness in her. And I know you do."

Zelena places Robyn in her crib in the living room. She gestures for Emma to follow her into the kitchen where she begins to steam a pot of tea on the oven. Emma sits down, waiting for Zelena to say something.

"I know you do," Emma shifts in her seat. "Because I still feel some of that darkness I had when I was the Dark One. It's hard to let go of."

"Save it," Zelena snaps. "I don't want your pity. What is it that you want from me?"

Emma's phone begins to vibrate. She looks at her screen to see Hook calling her. She texts him back, letting him know she'll be home by 7 like she promised. Then for good measure, she tells him Granny's grilled cheese and onion rings will be included upon her arrival home. Shutting off her phone, she stuffs it into her pocket.

"Gideon-Belle and Gold's son- wants to kill me."

Zelena sits back in her chair with a wicked laugh. "Seems like the Dark One's son isn't a fan of the former Dark One."

"Let's not drag who hates who in this town because you're on the top of the kill list in Storybrooke," Emma snaps back. "I need you to find Gideon and bring him back to me. My magic's been acting up, so it's hard to summon."

"I'm sorry," she laughs. "You want me to put myself in danger for you?"

Emma never thought about her safety. Not to mention her child's safety, but she knows Zelena is strong enough to hold her own against Gideon. Then again, she doesn't really know how powerful Gideon is. But her bets are pretty damn strong. Strong enough to defeat Emma.

"Not for me," Emma emphasizes. "For the town."

"What has this town ever done for me?" she quips.

Emma groans internally; she knew this would be difficult, but she didn't think it'd be this difficult. "If not for the town, then for your daughter. Gideon plans to enact a curse. A curse that will destroy everyone. Including yourself and your daughter."

She watches as Zelena's face changed from uncaring to caring. "I-I need time."

"Okay," Emma can understand that. "Come to me whenever, but it has to be in private. My parents or Hook can't know about this."

"Believe it or not Emma, I don't make it a point to talk to the Charmings or your one-handed pirate boyfriend."

Emma rolls her eyes, letting herself out of the house. She stuffs her hands in her pockets and heads to Grannys to pick up the dinner she promised Killian. As soon as she arrives home though, her stomach flips. She hates lying to Hook, especially because he can read her so well.

"I'm home!" she calls out when she walks into the foyer.

Hook walks out from the kitchen with his flask in hand. He looks upset. "Hey, love."

"You okay?" she follows him into the kitchen, setting the bag of food onto the kitchen counter. Hook hasn't drunk since the night he found out Emma was pregnant.

"Fine, love," he manages a small smile. "I just want to know why you think it's a good idea to fight Gideon yourself."

She knew David would tell Hook. "David should have never said anything."

"Why? Were you going to tell me yourself?" he asks.

She hasn't thought about whether or not she would tell Hook about her plan to defeat Gideon herself. More than David, she knew he wouldn't approve of her doing it. He would much rather go in her place with just his sword and hook to defeat a powerful Dark One. Hook would always sacrifice himself for Emma. And now Emma and their child.

"I-" she stutters but Hook walks away before she can finish.

"Just, don't," he tells her. "I need to be alone for a while, Swan."

Watching his retreating back, she slumps into her chair. She puts her face in her hands, wishing she was able to live a normal life with the man she loved while expecting a child. Could she really raise a child in this madness? When Henry and her lived in New York, everything was normal. They were safe. There were no threats of murderous Dark Ones vying to murder her to enact a curse. The worse thing that happened was getting rained on without an umbrella.

Putting her jacket back on, she walks into the night without looking back.


	7. Chapter 7

**Okay, I suck. Totally suck because it's been like years since I have updated. To be fair, I'm a journalism student, so I write a lot of other stuff and spend my time in the news room. Hope you enjoy this next chapter and I'll try to get better with updates. Promise! -Mads**

"Really?" Zelena leans against her doorway. "You're back already? I told you I needed time!"

"I'm not here to hound you about helping me defeat Gideon, I just needed to be somewhere and Hook is…he wants to be alone."

She watches as Zelena contemplates whether or not she should have Emma come inside. With a bit of conflict, she tells Emma to come in. Thankfully Robyn is fast asleep since she was up most of the night last night. Her sleeplessness has been taking a toll on Zelena.

Emma sits down at the table, staring ahead at the wall. She doesn't talk for a while until Zelena places a cup of tea in front of her. Never would she have thought that she would be sitting in Zelena's kitchen for comfort. Emma's always had a support system: her dad, mom, Hook and Henry. But she can't help but feel completely alone right now. Nobody wants her to defeat Gideon because of the risk of her getting hurt. But she would rather herself get hurt than the people she loves. Why don't they understand that?

"They don't want me risking myself for the town," Emma sips on her tea. "Yet I'm the only one who could beat Gideon. Even if I die trying, he'll be dead."

"And so will you," Zelena states. "For once I agree with the Charmings."

Emma arches an eyebrow at her. She knows Zelena's not saying this from a place of care; she's saying this as a mother herself. "Why?"

Zelena gets up, glancing at Robyn as she does so. "Because I'm a mother as you are too. You have Henry and your unborn child to think about. And your boy toy."

"He's not a boy toy," Emma snaps.

She rolls her eyes. "Whatever he may be, Savior. You have people that need you alive. And believe it or not, I don't think it's a good idea for you to go into this alone. That's why I'm going to help you. Under one condition."

Emma looks at her in disbelief. She never would have thought Zelena would actually agree to team up. After all, she does have a baby who no longer has a father. She would think Zelena wouldn't risk her life for anything. "What is it?"

"You're not allowed to speed up your pregnancy. I know you must be asking why is she helping me? Believe it or not, Emma Swan, I don't want to see your child hurt. I'm not a complete monster, and I know how awful sped up pregnancies are. Thanks to you."

Emma glances away from her as she reminds her of her duties as the Dark One. Speeding up her pregnancy was a last resort kind of action. She had hoped it would never have come to that considering she knows how painful it was for Belle and Zelena. Doing that to Hook would push him to the edge. "Fine; I agree with those terms."

"Good. Then I'll see you in about seven months."

"Um-what?"

Zelena laughs, pointing at Emma's still flat stomach. She's only a little over two months into her pregnancy. Of course without speeding up her pregnancy she wouldn't be able to defeat Gideon until she actually gives birth. But who knows if Gideon is willing to hold out that long. Not to mention the fact she has no idea if Gideon knows she's carrying a child. Would he really be that merciless to harm her child?

"Right," Emma gets up, a pain hitting her in her abdomen. She grabs onto the table, a tea cup crashing onto the floor. She looks up at Zelena to see if she's upset about the cup she broke, but her face is etched with concern. "I-AHHH!" Emma screams, clutching at her stomach.

Zelena rushes over to Emma, grabbing the phone as she does so. She guides Emma to the sofa and she calls the hospital. In moments, the ambulance is in her driveway and the EMTs are rushing Emma into the waiting ambulance. On the way to the hospital, Emma closes her eyes tightly. What if Gideon already beat her to the chase and sped up her pregnancy? She places her hand over her stomach, praying that the baby doesn't come now. She's not ready to face Gideon and she's not ready to leave her child motherless. Even though her child will have Hook, she wants it to have a mother as well.

"It's going to be okay, Ms. Swan," one of the EMT tells her. "We called Killian and he'll be waiting at the hospital for us. We need you to keep your eyes open."

Emma manages to nod her ever so slightly. Her eyes are trying to resist the commands of the EMT, but somehow she manages to keep them open until they get her to the hospital. She sees Hook run over to the ambulance. He's screaming at the EMTs, but she can't understand what it is he's saying. She keeps going in and out of consciousness. He's in front of her then, talking to her, but nothing is comprehensible to her.

"Emma." Hook says to her softly. When she doesn't respond back to him, he starts to panic. Hook pushes a piece of her hair behind her ear. There's tears gathering in his eyes as he keeps repeating her name, hoping he reaches to her.

A shadow appears from the corner of his eyes. Coming out from the shadows is Gideon. He tosses aside the EMTs and Emma falls to the ground. Hook rushes to her, picking her up in his arms. "You're not going to hurt her or my child!" Hook yells desperately.

"No," Zelena throws Gideon across the street with a lift of her hand. "He won't."

Gideon sits up, not too phased from the impact of Zelena's magic. Emma stirs in his arms, putting a hand to her stomach as if to make sure her child is still there. She lets out a sigh of relief and then looks up to see Gideon. And Zelena. She thrashes in Hook's arms, demanding he let her down.

"Swan-" Hook starts.

"He's not going to hurt you," she says as she walks across the street to Gideon. Zelena follows closely behind her as she approaches him.

"Hello Savior," Gideon sneers. "Come to play?"

Emma shakes off the fatigue she was feeling from earlier. He did it to lure her to him. "I've come to fight."

He laughs. "You mean you've come to die."

Emma looks at Zelena and they both lift their hands and blasts Gideon with their full powers. He shields it for a few moments until it becomes too much for him. Emma smiles, triumphant that both their powers are powerful enough to defeat him. Then she looks up to see Rumple beside him. He cuts off their magic and the two women fall to the ground. Emma lands hard on her bottom and elbows. She lifts her elbows to see the blood and gravel on them.

Wincing, she sees Hook hold his hand out to her. Zelena gets up, her hands only slightly scratched. "You okay?" Emma asks her.

Zelena shakes her head, looking at Rumple and his son. Gideon is sprawled out on his back with Rumple hovering over him. "I'll be able to hold him off for a while. Go get that checked out, Ms. Swan."

Emma thanks Rumple as Hook guides her to the hospital. The nurse checks her into a room right away where she tells her to wait until Dr. Whale comes in. The silence in the room is painful as Hook paces back and forth with concern sketched on his forehead.

"Are you insane?" he asks her, his voice full of hurt. "I told you-"

"You don't tell me anything. I make my own decisions, Killian." She crosses her arms defiantly over her choice.

Hook sits down in the chair beside her, grabbing her hand in his. "I don't want you to get hurt. My job is to protect you. And now the baby."

Emma looks at him. "I know, but you need to trust me. I would never put our baby in danger."

"But you…" he lets the air take that sentence. He knows that she's willing to die for those she loves. She's told him as much when she found out the fate of all Saviors. The door opens and Hook stands at the sound.

Rumple comes walking in. "I've detained him, but I can't say how long he'll be in there. He's strong, Ms. Swan. Stronger than anyone in this town. Stronger than me and definitely stronger than you."

Emma's face falters. "So how are we supposed to defeat him?"

She already knows. Belle told her, but she can't while she's pregnant. There has to be another way to defeat someone as strong as Gideon. Perhaps Blue may know what needs to be done. Dr. Whale barges through the door with a smile on his face. Emma wants to smack him.

"The Savior!" he laughs lightly.

"Bloody hell," Hook mutters in annoyance.

"What brings you in today?"

Emma places a hand protectively on her stomach, and Rumple exits to leave the room. He nods at her as she goes. She doesn't trust him as far as she can throw him, but he cares about Belle enough to protect her from their manic son. Which means helping the town as well. He may not be the best ally, but he's the best she has at the moment. He has an advantage being Gideon's father and the Dark One.

"Before there was this sharp pain and then-" Gideon had a hand in this somehow. He was playing with her-getting her to come out in public so he could get to her. Of course. How she didn't know that was his intention, she has no idea. "Nothing."

Dr. Whale quirks an eyebrow at her. "Then why are you here?"

"Gideon. It was him."

Hook places a hand on her shoulder as she starts to get up from the bed, but the pain from being thrown around makes her sit back down. "Maybe check to see if I broke anything. Gideon threw me pretty roughly."

Hook's jaw clenches at that. He begins to rub her back gently. "I would bloody love to put my hook through his heart."

Emma takes a hold of his hook as he continues to rub little circles on her back. "Then you become a villain."

"Already am I villain. Or was." He glances away from her.

After taking X-rays, Dr. Whale comes back into the room with the results. He slaps the folder down on the table with a smile. "Good news, no broken nose. Also good news, you're still pregnant."

Emma and Hook glare at him in tandem.

"Okay…the humor in Storybrooke still seems to be lacking. Anyway, you're good to go," he backs out of the room and Hook thanks him for his time.

"Ready to go home, love?"

He helps her from the bed and she limps out of the room. Gideon may not have broken anything, but she'll be sore for a few days from his impact. "Actually, I could really go for an ice cream sundae."

"As you wish."


	8. Chapter 8

"You've got to be kidding me," Emma mutters as she walks into Grannys later that night. The whole town is there with banners that say 'congratulations, Emma and Killian!'. There are even balloons scattered through the diner.

Emma turns around to see Hook's malicious smile. David greets them by slapping Hook on this shoulder. "You didn't think we wouldn't eventually throw you a congratulatory party, now did you?"

"I was really hoping you wouldn't," Emma says. All she wanted was to get some ice cream and then snuggle up beside Hook as they continue their binge watching of Netflix. A party was not something she was feeling especially after the afternoon she's had with Gideon nearly breaking her bottom.

Mary Margaret embraces Hook and Emma. Neal whines in her arms, reaching for Hook. For some reason, Neal has taken kindly to Hook. Hook regards him wearily. He's never been one to comfort children, but he may as well try since he'll be a father in a few months. Mary Margaret places him in his arms and he makes sure his hook is out of reach.

"I may ask the Dark One to magic me my hand back when our little girl arrives."

Emma quirks an eyebrow at him. "Girl? We haven't even found out the gender yet."

"Aye," he gazes down at Neal with a small smile. "I have a feeling that she'll be a little girl with blonde hair and my blue eyes. But she'll look just like you."

Tears gather in Emma's eyes as Hook tells her about their child. She isn't certain that her baby is a girl, but he seems to be pretty confident about the assumption. She lies her head against his shoulder as he makes faces at Neal, earning a laugh from her baby brother. Henry runs up to them with a piece of cake in his hands.

"I think you'd want this," he thrusts it towards Emma with a smile. "Because pregnant women like cake."

She takes the piece of cake with a laugh. "Well, kid, I can't say that's entirely accurate, but I will take this cake."

"She gets a piece and I don't? Bad form, mate," Hook chides Henry.

Henry rolls his eyes at Hook. They get along fine, but Henry is, after all, still a teenage boy. He walks back over to where cake is being served to get Hook a piece as well. With a sarcastic comment, he sets the piece down at the table beside them. David takes Neal from Hook so he can eat his cake.

Regina walks over to Emma, a smirk on her face. "You look happy."

"Of course I'm happy," Emma says.

"After what just happened with Gideon? Emma, you need to stop putting yourself in harm's way. And teaming up with my sister? That may have been your stupidest decision yet," she states.

Emma sets her empty plate down. "She can help me defeat him."

Regina shrugs her shoulders. "Who knows."

She walks away, leaving Emma annoyed. Her hand starts to spark with magic and she grabs it roughly. Her magic hasn't spun out of control for quite some time. It makes her curious if it's a side effect of being pregnant. Or maybe it's Gideon's doing. Her hand begins to shake as it starts to spark again. She rushes to the bathroom, gripping onto her hand hard. Tears prick her eyes at the sudden twist. She'd been so confident with her magic lately. She's no longer afraid to have her powers; they make her who she is. Without them, she wouldn't Emma. A few years ago she would have disagreed, but there's no going back to that closed-off, powerless woman.

A soft knock sounds on the door. "Love?" she hears Hook's voice from outside the door.

Cracking the door open, he takes that as a sign to walk in. He stares down at her shaking, sparking hand with worry. "Swan, your hand."

"It won't stop and I don't know why. My magic hasn't done this since Elsa arrived in town."

Hook takes her hand in his, wincing as it sparks his. He retracts it immediately, and Emma's eyes widen in fear. She takes a step away from him, shielding herself from him. "I hurt you!" she screams.

"No," he tries to reach for her, but she backs against the wall.

"Stay back!"

"Emma-" he tries, but she can't hurt him. She needs to get away from anyone she can possibly hurt. Doing what she does best, she manages to magic herself away from him.

Sitting on the edge of the dock, she hangs her head. The sound of heels is heard a few minutes later. Glancing up, she sees Belle walking towards her with a to-go cup from Grannys. She places it next to Emma.

"I thought some hot cocoa would help," she sits beside Emma, clearly not afraid of her sparking hand.

"You shouldn't be here," she tells Belle.

Belle shrugs her shoulders, looking out into the growing night sky. The sun disappeared hours ago and the stars are starting to emerge from the sky. The waves brush against the edge of the dock in little lulls. Belle places her hand over Emma's noncrazy one.

"Killian wanted to come find you, but I told him I would."

"Why?" Emma asks.

Belle closes her eyes. "Because everything that's happening is my fault. The reason why your magic is going crazy is because of my son. I feel responsible for it."

Emma wants to agree with her, that Belle simply should have stayed away from Gold long ago, but she can't. Not when she sits here with her when she could get hurt. Belle means well, and she always wants to see the best in people. Emma can't scold her for that. She wishes she could be as forgiving as her. "It's not your fault. More Gold's fault."

"Yeah, but I should have known better than to trust him," she hangs her head. "I wanted to see the beauty behind the beast. However, I no longer believe I can find it."

She doesn't respond right away. "You loved him. I understand why you stayed. If Killian hadn't changed, it would have been hard to stay away. From the moment I first met him…I think that's when I fell in love with him."

Belle smiles at that. "He's a good man, a better man because of you. I just wish Rumple could have seen the good in me and done the same as Hook. But that's the difference between a hero and a villain. Villains are less likely to change."

"Maybe," Emma looks down at her hand to see it has calmed down.

"We should get back," Belle stands up, offering Emma her hand.

They walk down the darkened streets back to Grannys. The diner is still full with her friends and family. She lets Belle walk inside before her and she smiles at Hook and her father sitting together at the bar. Each has a shot in their hand. Then she glances over to Mary Margaret, Henry and Neal sitting in a booth together. Henry has his book out, pointing to something in the book.

Emma opens the door to rejoin the party. After all, they threw it for her.


	9. Chapter 9

**Just a fluffy chapter before the angst comes full swing. Thanks for reading and reviewing! If I go off the grid, it's because of college work! -Mads**

Emma jolts up in bed, covered in sweat. She looks over to the right side of the bed where Hook usually sleep. However, he's not there. She glances at the clock, noticing it's only 2 in the morning. He should be in bed by now. Even on his sleepless nights he never leaves the bed. Instead he just passes time by reading or watching Netflix on his phone. Ever since Emma introduced to him to mobile Netflix, he's become entranced.

Getting out of bed, she places her hand on her stomach. She's now a little over three months pregnant and the looming threat of Gideon has disappeared for now. Though it's only been a couple weeks. Gold's been missing too. The baby kicks her hard and she surges forward with a groan escaping from her mouth.

The door to their balcony opens to a worried Hook. He rushes over to Emma who's barely sitting on the bed. He helps push her back onto the bed, placing his hand over hers that's resting on her stomach.

"Are you okay?"

Gazing into his eyes, she nods her head slightly. "I was worried when I didn't find you beside me. I thought you left me."

His eyes become hooded, almost guilty looking. The past couple of weeks have been hard on them. With her hormones raging, she's taken her anger out on Hook more than she should. He was only trying to help. They've become distant and she hates how that makes her feel. She wants nothing more than to be back in the blissful honeymoon stages of their relationship. Like when he returned from the Underworld.

"Killian," Emma puts her hand against his cheek and he closes his eyes. "I miss you."  
"I'm right here, love. I'm not going anywhere."

She puts both of her hands against his chest, he's kneeling on the floor before her. "No, I know. I mean…I miss us being happy and actually…"

"Yes, Swan?" he presses her to continue. Talking has never been his Swan's strongest suit. Nonetheless, her never pushes her to say anything. He knows at the right time that she'll tell him whatever it is she's feeling.

"I feel like the romance we had is gone. Is it because you think I'm damaged goods?" Her eyes fill with tears at the thought. They haven't been in intimate since she told him she was pregnant.

Hook gets up and she lays back on the bed as he hovers over her. "You know that's not it, love. I guess the stress has been getting to me. To everyone. But I love you and I think you're even more beautiful now that you're carrying over child."

Emma's eyes fill with happy tears this time and she leans forward to press her lips against his. He goes down with her until he's on top of her. She opens up to him and she pulls his shirt over his head.

They lay tangled in the sheets together, Hook's head resting on her subtle protruding stomach. She plays with his hair that is in desperate need of a cut. It's almost as long as it was when they were the Dark Ones. The thought of those times make her cringe.

"What are you thinking about, love?" he moves back up to lean against the headboard. Emma ogles his bare chest for a minute, trying to stall the moment.

She smiles lightly at him. "Everything we've been through and what we're going through. I just wish…I just wish things were different. Don't you wish we could live in a place where we wouldn't be in constant danger?"

He regards her for a moment before answering. "Danger has been lurking around the corner my entire life. It's what makes me who I am. I've fought and I survived and I've protected. I promise you, Swan, I am going to protect you and our child. Even if it kills me."

Emma contemplates this. She knows Hook would do anything to protect her and her unborn child. Though she has thought more lately than not about uprooting her family somewhere away from Storybrooke. This town is her home, but it's never been good to her. Her life in Boston may have not been perfect, but it was still a life. A life without magic and Saviors and the impending death of herself.

"I just…I don't. Hook," she catches her breath, resisting the tears. "I can't die. I can't bear to live a life without you or Henry or this child who I may never get to meet!"

"Hey," Hook pulls her more tightly against her. "You are not going to die. I won't let it happen."

"Emma!" a voice calls in the distance.

She sits upright, tugging the seat up with her. Before she can tell whoever it is to go away, her dad-out of all people, bursts through the door. Hook curses before tugging the sheet over his body too. David looks between them, his face falling.

"Son of a bi—" he starts to say.

Hook glances at Emma with a smirk. "How are you, mate?"

"I'm going to punch you. I swear."

"Come on, it's not like you don't know how Emma got pregnant," he retorts.

Emma would do anything to disappear. "Would you two just stop? Please. This is already so awkward. And Dad, I did walk in on you and mom that one time."

David's hand is still covering his eyes, but a laugh escapes from him. "I guess we're even. Doesn't mean I won't punch you in the face, pirate."

"Oh I would despair if you didn't," Hook says before David walks back out of the room.

Emma whips the covers back, picking up her discarded clothes. "Come on, get dressed and let's see what he wants."


	10. Chapter 10

**Okay, so this chapter didn't end up going how I wanted it to...However, I hope you all like it anyway! It's going to get a little darker from here. As always, thanks for the reads! -Mads**

Now dressed, the three of them gather around the dining room table. Emma gets up to make decaf coffee, stirring in the appropriate amount of sugar and cream. David's face looks worried and tired. She's almost terrified to ask why he came here.

"So," she sits down, placing a hand on her small bump. "What brings you here this morning, Dad?"

David folds his hands on the table. "I'm afraid we figured out why Gideon wants to kill you. He's not going to strike until after the baby is born, nor is he going to rush up your pregnancy. However, he plans to murder you to possess your powers as the Savior."

The coffee mug crashes on the floor, spilling hot coffee all over her lap and the floor. She's too numb to feel it though as Hook hurries for a towel to first wipe her up and then the floor. She swats his hand away from her as he tries to get the coffee from her clothing. Standing, up she paces the kitchen, a hand pressed to her forhead.

"He wants my powers. But why?"

David gets up to comfort her, he pulls her hands from her face, holding them in his hands. "We don't know, but we think he wants to use the powers for evil. Instead of giving people their happy endings, he wants to destroy them."

"Like the Evil Queen," Hook states.

"Yeah. Like the Evil Queen. Thankfully that's one less problem to worry about since she's still in her amphibian form." David brings Emma into his arms, soothing her as she continues to go numb.

Hook stares at the father and daughter. Throwing the rag on the counter, he storms out of the house. David comes running after him, leaving Emma in the kitchen. "Where the hell are you going?"

"To make the Dark One defeat his son!" Hook yells behind his shoulders, not daring to stop walking. The sooner he gets to Gold's shop, the sooner all this madness can be put to end. And more importantly, the sooner Emma can have a happy pregnancy without worrying about being murdered by a man-child.

"You're being a bit impulsive," David catches up to him, yanking him to a halt.

Hook's breathing hard as he gives up trying to escape David's grip. He's too weak from the lack of sleep he's been getting. With Emma's life in danger, he can't shut his mind enough to get a night's worth of sleep. His mind is always running, imagining a life without Emma. A life where he would have to raise their child by himself with the threat of Gideon reigning over the town. He can't bear to lose her because if he does, he might revert back into his old ways, and he can't for the sake of their child.

"Every day I stand around not doing anything is another day closer to Gideon getting what he wants and taking away the only thing I love in this bloody world!" Hook yells. Tears gather in his eyes as he sees Emma standing behind David, a look of fear in her eyes.

"Hey," she steps up to him, grabbing his face between her hands. "I'm not going anywhere. I won't let him defeat me. We'll defeat him. Together. Like we did with the darkness. I need you to trust me on this."

Hook looks past her. "Swan…this isn't like the darkness. This is about the most powerful sorcerer killing you and as much as I want to believe in you, I don't think anyone is strong enough to defeat him. Not even you, love."

Emma's hands drop from his face as he walks off. She stands there, both hands holding her stomach as she tries to hold in her tears. Turning around to face her father, she falls into his arms, sobbing wildly. Maybe Hook's right; maybe nobody is strong enough to defeat Gideon. However, she's not going to die without at least trying.

Emma lies on the couch, staring up at the ceiling. It's been six hours since Hook walked away from her this morning. He won't answer his cell. Nobody around town has seen him either. Logically, the best place to check would be the Jolly Roger, but something tells her that would be too obvious of a place. Nonetheless, she reaches for her red leather jacket. It's getting a bit too tight on her now. She can't manage to zip it, so she leaves it open. It's a nice afternoon in Storybrooke for once. Just a bit of a sea breeze chilling the air. Nothing that she isn't able to handle.

Arriving at the docks minutes later, she gazes at the Jolly Roger rocking against the waves. A figure stands at the helm of the ship, and she makes her way over to it. Another form joins the figure who she knows his Hook. Though she's not sure who the other figure is standing beside him. Putting her hands in her jean's pockets, she steps aboard the ship. Close up, she sees Smee is the other figure, gabbing away to Hook. He looks so natural on the ship and she wonders if he wishes he would have never ventured far from the sea. If getting involved with her was a mistake. He wouldn't be so unhappy.

"Hi, Sherriff!" Smee greets her with a big smile. "I haven't had the pleasures of congratulating the two of you on the baby."

Emma smiles at the man. She's never really talked to him before. Besides the one night she had to lock him up for stealing from the convenience store a year or so ago. A lot has changed since then. "Thank you."

Hook hasn't glanced her way yet, but he turns to Smee. "Will you excuse us, Mr. Smee?"

Smee nods his head, brushing past Emma and onto the dock. Emma stands in place, feeling the rocking of the waves. "We need to talk."

"We do," Hook leans against the helm of the ship. "I was-"

"We should take a break," Emma interrupts him. When she stepped aboard the ship, she had every intention to beg him to believe in her, but sometimes you have to let go of those you love. She doesn't want Hook to be unhappy; she wants him to live the life he wants. And she knows that's not changing diapers but sailing the Jolly Roger.

His face goes blank as he stares back at her. She's trying so hard to not to cry and take back her words. Hook steps closer to her, reading her face. "What-why?"

"Because," she sniffs. "I can't be the reason you're unhappy."

"Unhappy?" he balks. "Being with you is the only thing in this damned world that actually makes me happy. How could you think any other way, love?"

She steps back from her, giving herself some space. "Your life is being a pirate; not staying at home fearing for my safety. You need to be sure that being with me is what you want."

Hook's face grows red with anger. "You are what I want!"

"But how can you be sure?" she whispers.

He crowds her until her back is pressed against the ship. "Because we're true love; we're destined to be together. Swan, please don't do this. Don't walk away from me because you're afraid."

"I'm not," she shakes her head. "I just want you to be at peace, Killian."

"I can't be at peace without you," he whispers, the tears streaming down his face in rapid speed. "Please, Emma."

She escapes from his warmth, walking back onto the dock. "Just for a while. Until we both know what we want. I love you."

"Then why are you doing this?" he yells, but she continues to walk back to her bug. He watches her drive away before collapsing in his bed below deck and crying until every tear has shed. He can't remember the last time he really cried. The pain is eating him alive.

A puff of smoke clouds his room as he sees Gideon appear. Grabbing his sword, he points it at the Dark One's son. "Come closer and I'll kill you."

"Lower the sword, Hook," Gideon says calmly. "We both know I'm more powerful than you and I could kill you with the flick of my wrist."

Lowering his sword, he gets up from his bed. "What do you want?" Hook bites out.

Gideon magics a potion in his hand. "I wanted to give you a gift. I can imagine how you must be feeling now that Emma has realized the type of man you really are."

"She loves me; she just needs time. And I'm not accepting anything you give to me. I'd have to be deeply daft to do so," Hook sneers.

Gideon laughs. "Unless, of course, you don't know that I give you it." He knocks Hook out with his magic, bending down to make sure the pirate is unconscious. He pours the potion onto his hand, it floats into the air. "I need you to make this pirate into the man he is, the man he was." He magic settles down onto Hook, and Gideon poofs out.

Hook wakes up, his head groggy. He feels different; he feels more powerful.

Gideon reappears again with a smirk. "Hello, Dark One, I have a task for you."


	11. Chapter 11

**Let me just say: I am so sorry. Dark Hook wasn't something I planned; it just kinda happened. Thought I would update since I'll be mia for a while because college. Hopefully you like this. Comments are appreciated! xoxo**

Hook looks at Gideon with hooded eyes. "Aye, and what will that task be?"

Gideon smiles a ruthless smile. He's all too familiar with Hook's past self and his quest for vengeance. Even under his love for Emma, Hook still feels anger for her for turning him into the Dark One. Gideon wants to use that and expose it for his own gain. Having Hook turn on Emma will only make his mission of defeating the Savior that much easier.

"I need you, Captain, to break Emma Swan's heart. Think you can manage?"

"Aye," Hook looks up with a bored expression. "That shouldn't be a problem. She's taken so much from me already. She made me weak."

Gideon circles around Hook. "Now, don't forget that she also turned you into the thing you despise the most back in Camelot. I have a feeling you still feel some resentment towards her for that."

Hook's stare goes blank as if he's lost in memory of his days as the Dark One. And now here he is again as the Dark One. However, this time he doesn't feel angry at that fact he's what he despises the most. He feels almost free. Powerful. Hungry for revenge of those who have ever done him wrong. Starting with the woman who changed him into a coward: Emma.

Gideon gestures for Hook to go above deck. "It's up to you, Hook, to accomplish this for me. I'm counting on you. Bring me her broken heart."

"I bloody well intend to bring it to you. First, I have a visit to make to your dear father and mother." Hook pushes past Gideon, climbing the ladder onto the deck of his ship.

The sky turns dark and the sky breaks out into a downpour, thunder grumbling in the distance. Hook looks down at his hand to see he's the cause of the storm. He smiles ruthlessly as he walks down the dock back towards Storybrooke. After Emma told him to let her have time to herself, he'll respect that. For the time being. He intends to break her heart just like Gideon expects him to.

Emma sits curled up on her couch, nursing a mug of hot cocoa in her hands. Henry sits in the seat beside her, laughing at a scene in a movie they rented out. However, she has no idea what's happening in the movie. Her mind is too consumed with Hook's hurt and anger as she left him on the Jolly Roger. She only wants what's best for him. And if in a couple days he knows for sure he wants a life with her, so be it.

"Mom," Henry gets up to look out the window as a bolt of lightning strikes close to the window.

Emma realizes this storm as a result of magic. Whoever brewed it must have been angry. Her first guess is Gideon. Then again, it could also be Gold depending. Even Regina. Everyone in town seems to be on edge, more than usual. She gets up from the couch to watch as the rain pounds against the window, making it almost impossible to see outside. The lights inside begin to waver, and then the house goes dark.

"One second," Emma tells Henry, willing her magic to form a substance of lighting. She tries with no luck. Somethings playing with her magic, or the pregnancy is affecting it. It wouldn't be the first time. She's had a pretty good grip on her magic lately though. Slamming her hands against the couch, a spark goes through her. The house is temporarily brightened. But the light is gone almost as quickly as it was ignited.

"What do you think brought on the storm?" Henry asks her.

Without hesitance, she answers. "Dark magic."

"Gideon," Henry guesses. "His magic is this powerful?"

"Well it certainly wouldn't be surprising considering he's strong enough to kill the Savior and succeed." Emma slumps back against the couch.

They'll just have to sit in the dark until the anger of whoever's yielding the dark magic decides to cool down. Her mind wanders to Hook. Hopefully he was smart enough to find refuge at Grannys before the storm began. Though, he did used to sail in this weather back in the Enchanted Forest. He's probably loving this right now, reminding him of his rightful place as a pirate. Her pirate…

The electricity flickers back on. She glances out the window to see the sky clear and the Sun comes back out of hiding. Henry looks at her quizzically. He rushes upstairs and returns with his storybook.

"Hate to break it to you, kid, but I doubt that has the answer to what happened," she states simply.

"I think you're forgetting that I'm the author. A lot of what happens appears in the book that even I don't know about. Can't hurt to check," he begins flipping through the book furiously.

He opens to the page of Hook and her at the ball when they went back in time. Her throat catches as she resists the urge to run to him. She wants to make sure he's okay. Sending a text message isn't against the rules. Just because they're taking a break doesn't mean she can't make sure he survived the storm. She sends the text, staring at her phone, urging him with her mind to text her back. Knowing Hook, he probably left his phone somewhere or forgot to charge it. A vibration sounds in between the couch. Sighing, she digs is phone out from the couch.

She smiles down at the screensaver she helped him set. It's a picture of the two of them her mom took for their first date. At the time, Emma was embarrassed that her mom took the photo, but now she loves that she did.

"Mom," Henry's looking at her like he's been trying to get her attention for some time. "There was a knock at the door."

Emma gets up, removing the gun from the cupboard that she keeps it in. Better to be safe than sorry. Opening the door, she sees Hook leaning against the door frame, starting at his hook like he's bored. "Killian," she breathes.

"Hello, Emma."

His curt greeting and use of her name catches her off guard. There's something off about him, but she can't seem to put her finger on it. He brushes pass her, making his way into the kitchen. She follows after him, curious at his odd behavior. He's acting strange. She keeps her gun close to her. Gideon could be using his powers to mask himself as Hook. Hook hasn't acted this way since he was…

"No," she says under her breath in shock. "It wouldn't be possible."

"Tell me, love, why you so badly wanted to ruin my life?" he glares back at her. "Did you get yourself pregnant as a way to trap me?"

His words hurt her and she resists the urge to slap him. "How could you say that? I didn't plan for this to happen!"

"Calm down," he walks over to her, getting close to her face. He puts his hand against her face and she flinches slight. He's not acting like her Killian. "I just want the truth, Swan. For once, why don't you enlighten me."

Emma steps away from him, breaking their touch. "Don't talk to me like that!"

Henry comes walking into the kitchen. "I heard yelling. Is everything okay?" He gives Hook a confused look.

"Aye, mate. Your mother and I are just having a conversation."

Emma walks over to Henry, putting her hands on his shoulder. "I think you should go check on Regina. Maybe stay the night with her tonight?"

He nods his head, glancing back over at Hook. "Let me know if you need anything."

She assures him that she'll be alright as she watches him ascend the stairs to grab his things to go to Regina's. They stand in silence until Henry gives Emma a quick kiss on the cheek, waving bye to Hook. The door slams, interrupting their silence.

"Why are you here, Hook?"

Hook leans against the counter. "So we're back to Hook? No Killian? I'm so used to you yelling Hook in bed; I guess I shouldn't be surprised who it was you always wanted. The pirate, not the gentleman."

Her cheeks flush red at his comment. "I'm going to ask you again: what do you want?"

Walking back over to her, he leans into her until her back is pressed against the counter. He reaches down between them, grabbing the gun that's tucked in her jeans. He holds it in his hand. "No need for this, Swan."

She's growing angrier as he continues to invade her space, still not answering her question. "Please…"

"I want to hurt you," he puts his hand against her cheek. "I want to break you until you're weak and worthless and defeated."

"You're not Killian," she pushes roughly against his chest, grabbing the gun again. She points it to his chest as he holds his hands up. "Who the hell are you!"

He laughs. "It's still me. Just a better version of me. Gideon did me a favor; he made me the Dark One again. Now I have all the power and control that I could ever need. I don't need anything else. Not love. Not you."

Her throat closes as she lets go of the tears threatening to burst from her. Tears roll down her face furiously as the gun drops to the ground. Then her hands begin to shake again, but this time there are no visions accompanied with it. Just the heartbreak she feels of her true love telling her he doesn't want her. Doesn't need her.

"Killian," she sobs. "This isn't you. I told you that the darkness isn't your happy ending before. I won't give up on you. Just like I didn't give up on you the last time. Nor did you give up on me."

"That's the thing, Swan," he steps up to her, brushing the tears from her face. "It's not like last time. Your love won't fix this because there's nothing to fix. Face it; the darkness has always been a part of me. Gideon showed me that."

Her hands start to settle down. "You're choosing the darkness over me? Get the hell out of my house! I don't want to see you ever again, Killian Jones! I'll never let you see my baby."

"Our baby," he sneers. "That little one is as much mine as it's yours. And I will not let it go its life without a father."

Anger bubbles within her as this man, this monster, stares back at her. Before she knows it, she raises her hands, blasting him back with her magic. He crashes into the table behind him, but picks his self right back up.

"I'll be back, Swan."

He poofs in a cloud of red and Emma falls to the ground, covering her face as she lets the tears spill down her face. Holding her stomach, she gets back up and grabs her jacket.

"He's not going to hurt me," she says to herself, slamming the door shut behind her. Driving to Gold's shop, she bursts through the front door. The sign says he's closed, but he owes her for what his son as done this time. Threatening to kill her is one thing, but turning her boyfriend into the thing he despises the most is a whole other thing. Gideon will be defeated, and she will be the one who will defeat her. She'll kill him herself. She'll pay the price for doing so.


	12. Chapter 12

**I know, I totally suck with updates! To be fair, I've been writing, just not fanfic. Lol. Hopefully this mess makes sense to you...I wanted to write something. I'll be on spring break for about 10 days so I'll have time to write more. Thanks for reviews, faves-I enjoy those!-mads**

The door slams shut in her wake. She paces around the store before calling for Gold. She picks up a bottle that's empty. In her angered state, she slams it against the wall across from her just as Gold steps from the back room.

"I'm glad to see you've broken into my store and are now destroying my things. What is it, Ms. Swan?"

She pulls at his collar, bringing him closer to her. "Tell me where your damn son is so I can murder him."

Gold's eyes widen a bit at her admission. "I wish I could tell you, but he doesn't make it a point to tell me his whereabouts. There's something more to him just murdering you, isn't there?"

Emma lets go of her hold on him. "Killian…" she takes a deep breath before continuing. "Gideon turned him back into the Dark One."

"That's not possible since I'm still the Dark One."

"Yeah, well apparently it is. I'm afraid of Killian, and I know you can help me." Emma places her hand protectively on her stomach. She will do anything in her power to protect her child from both Gideon and Killian. As much as she hates thinking of Killian in that way, she knows that's not actually Killian. Gideon is clearly manipulating him.

He moves around the counter to Emma. He gestures for her to open her hand, and she does. He places a small object in her palm before walking back around the counter. "This will freeze Killian in one place. You must find Zelena since she still has her dark magic. With dark magic and light magic working together, the both of you will be able to counteract Hook's darkness."

"That easy?" Emma looks at the small object in her hand.

"Not quite," he smirks. "You see, Ms. Swan, what is inside the object is where it will be effective. It's a stimulate that you need to attach to Hook. You'll need to get close to him."

Emma contemplates that. By getting close to Hook, she'll be putting her and her baby in danger. "I'll have Zelena do that."

"Unless you want Zelena to seduce your pirate boyfriend, it would be best if you did this. The Dark One won't let anyone close to him expect for those he loves. And despite his darkness, he still has affection for you under that darkened heart. Trust me, I would know," he tells her.

Emma nods her head, thanking him as she walks outside. Letting out a deep breath, she pockets the small orb. Her next step is to ask Zelena for another favor. She's glad the woman isn't totally against Emma anymore. And she would be more than willing to help destroy another Dark One as she also has a child to protect. Emma knows her Killian would never hurt a child, but she can't say the same about the Dark Killian. He's a threat, not just to her, but to everyone around her.

Knocking on Zelena's front door, the woman opens with a look of annoyance on her face. "I swear, my own sister doesn't even visit me as much as you do."

"I kinda have another favor to ask of you. Killian…Gideon cursed him with dark magic again."

Zelena lets out a bitter laugh. "Hook's the Dark One again? Bloody hell."

"Gold says the only way to defeat his darkness is by combining dark and light magic. So that means-"

"That you need my dark magic," Zelena finishes the sentence for Emma. Emma merely nods, hoping that Zelena won't take offense to that. Seeing as she's the only person left in town with dark magic, she wouldn't know what to do next if she doesn't agree to help.

Emma leans against the door frame, the baby angrily kicking her stomach. The house lights flicker on and off before going dark. Zelena and Emma both mutter curses under their breath. Emma's hand lights up with magic, emanating some light in the dark foyer.

"So useful," a deep voice says from behind her.

The lights go back on again as Hook steps through the door. Zelena hears Robyn crying, dashing over to her baby and creating a bubble of magic around Robyn. Hook regards her with a smirk on his face, leaning in closer to Emma. His lips brush against her ears. She stands still as he bites down softly on her ear lobe.

"She may be able to protect her baby, but your magic wouldn't be strong enough to protect ours," he says into her ear.

Emma shivers at his words, anger bubbling through her. The baby kicks her again, almost as if she wants to kick her father instead. The pain seizes hold of Emma as she lets out a loud cry. She turns around to look at Hook who has genuine worry in his eyes at her pain. Her stomach begins to grow.

"No!" Emma cries out as she slumps to the floor.

Zelena looks back at Emma, her eyes nearly popping from her head. She rushes over to Emma, blasting Hook with some of her own magic. He goes flying across the room, landing hardly against the wall.

Emma's stomach seems to have stopped expanding. She looks like she did mere weeks before she had Henry. Whoever pushed forward her pregnancy didn't complete the task successfully, but still managed to bump her ahead a few months. The pain is too much for Emma to hand and she lets out a sob. Hook is still slumped against the wall, appearing to stand back up again.

He gets up, heading straight towards Emma. Zelena beats him to it, getting in his personal space. "If you go anywhere near her, I swear, Dark One, I will rip out your heart and smash it in front of her."

Hook's eyes waver between Zelena and Emma. The conflict in his eyes is apparent. "That wasn't my magic. I'm not bloody insane!"

"No?" Emma moans from her place on the floor. "You're only trying to hurt your child!"

Suddenly Gideon appears in the house. Hook's focus is now on him as Emma panics when she sees the two men side by side. He goes over to Hook, side stepping Emma. He places his hand on Hook's chest before ripping his heart from his chest.

"You can't even break her heart as the bloody Dark One," he sneers. "Since I'm feeling generous today, I'll turn you back to your love-sick self before killing you in front of your true love." Gideon contracts his magic, turning Hook's heart, only a bit of black color remaining.

Hook seems to snap out of his trance as he bends over from the pain. Gideon's grip on his heart is tightening as Hook looks up to meet Emma's eyes. She recognizes the look on his face, it was the same look he had when Gold was about to crush his heart: full of hurt, love and content.

"I'll die if it protects Emma and my child," he says between his cries.

Emma's anger takes full-force as her hand begins to shake uncontrollably. Before she realizes what she's doing, Gideon is sent flying back and through the wall. Hook's heart lands on the ground and Zelena swoops in to pick it up as she attends to Hook. She pushes his back in his chest as he slumps down to the ground.

Emma picks herself up, stepping through the wall she blasted Gideon through. Her mind races as she finds Gideon on the ground, a smear of blood on his face.

"Please," he says warily, pleading with her. "Don't kill me."

Emma stalls for an instant. "Why? So you can kill me first?"

"Emma, stop!" her parents and Regina burst through the door in an instance.

Emma's hand still pulsates with her magic, ready to seek her vengeance on the man who turned her true love dark and the man who wants to murder her. "He needs to be killed."

Snow rushes to Emma's side. "Please, Emma. Gideon is just a child."

Her eyes flash with annoyance at her mother. How, after everything that has happened, can she be defending him? "A child? He's a murderer."

Gold steps through the rubble next, holding a cuff that Emma recognizes all too well. It's the same cuff that was used on her while she was the Dark One. Emma's eyes flicker through the wall at David tending to Hook's side. He pulls him up a bit roughly.

"But he's my son," Gold tells her quietly. "You would do anything to protect Henry and your unborn child. Would you not?"

Emma realizes his words. She would do anything for her children. However, her children also aren't a threat to the town. "My children aren't monsters."

David brings Hook into the room, an arm across his shoulders. Emma chances my last glance at Gold before walking over to Hook. She looks into his sad eyes and her eyes reflect his. Her eyes water with tears as she wraps him into a hug. David steps away from them, letting the two have their moment. Emma leans her head against Hook's shoulder as he repeats words of apology. His voice is clouded with the unmistakable sound of sobs. She caresses his head against her, letting him know she isn't angry with him. She knows the Dark One can't be controlled, considering she's been in the same predicament once before.

"I'm so sorry, Emma. I don't know how you'll ever forgive me," Hook chokes into her hair.

Emma pulls back from him, starring into his eyes. "It's too late; I already forgive you."

Hook's eyebrows shoot up. "You do?"

She gives him a slight shrug. "You forgave me for chaining you into my-our basement when I was a Dark One."

"That was different," he responds. "You were trying to protect me. I was trying to break you, and I'm sorry, Swan, but that's something that will take me some time to forgive myself for."

Emma kisses him on the cheek, putting her forehead against his. As she does so, she feels her stomach deflating back to her previous state. Her hand shoots to her stomach, nearly screaming in annoyance. Going for four months to eight months in an hour can do a lot to a woman. Her anger turns to Gold and Gideon. Her hand starts to shake with her magic, but Hook grabs it, lightly stinging his hand as he does so.

"Calm down, love."

She pulls her hand from his, cradling it in her other hand. "I think I should go see Whale about my whole deflating stomach thing," she makes light of it.

"Aye," Hook glances over to Gideon before following Emma from the room.


	13. Chapter 13

**This chapter is a bit longer and fluffier than the rest of the story. I've been reading angsty fanfic lately, so I decided to lay off the angst for this chapter. Fret not, the next chapter is about to get...um messy. Enjoy! As always thanks for the faves, reviews etc! -mads**

It's been one week since the battle with Gideon and her stomach suddenly exploding. Since then, Hook has been extra attentive to her. She's at the oven making a grilled cheese at one in the morning. Her cravings have been erratic lately, and she finds herself hungry at times when she should be sleeping. She manages to make minimal noise since Hook and Henry are asleep upstairs.

Rummaging through the cabinets, she searches for something salty to accompany her sandwich. What she wouldn't do for a fryer to make onion rings. And if only Grannys delivered at one in the morning. Finally finding a bag of Cheetos, she reaches up to grab them, but a box of Keurig coffees falls to the ground. The sound of footsteps comes running down the stairs.

"Swan?" Hook squints to see her picking up the coffee from the ground. He stands there with his hair a mess and his pajama pants nearly falling from his waist. David gave him some of his hand-me-downs, but they're a bit big on her boyfriend.

"Hi, handsome," she greets him. Her hormones are picking up speed at the sight of his rustled state.

Hook walks over to her, reaching his hand out to her to take. She grabs it, and he brings her against him. "Are those your hormones talking again, love?"

"Mmm…" she runs her hands up his chest. "Henry's asleep…"

He arches an eyebrow at her. "That he is."

She puts her hand against his cheek before kissing him. The kiss starts off soft, but then she opens her mouth to him. His hook snakes down to her waist, and his hand thrusts through her blonde waves. Emma groans against his lips as he moves his lips to kiss her neck. She backs them up to the counter, and he lifts her onto it, once again bringing his lips to hers. Pulling back, she lifts her hands up for him to take her shirt off, just as he has it over her head, the sound of a startled gasp stops them. Hook rests his head in between her neck and shoulders.

"I-uh…" Henry starts to back out of the kitchen.

Hook pulls away from Emma, picking up her shirt and she shrugs it back on. "What are you doing up?" he asks Henry.

Henry finally looks over as soon as Emma has her shirt back on, jumping down from the counter. "I smelled something burning and wanted to make sure the house wasn't burning down."

"Shit!" Emma totally forgot about her grilled cheese that was on the stovetop. "Sorry for waking you, kid."

"It's okay. Like I said, just was making sure the house wasn't in flames," he shakes his head. "Oh, and by the way, you do realize people make food on that counter?" With that he walks away, leaving Hook and Emma's faces completely red from embarrassment.

Emma throws the charred grilled cheese away, getting the ingredients back out to make another.

"He's right you know," Hook laughs.

"About what?" Emma spreads butter on one side of the bread before putting the cheese on the sandwich.

Hook points to the counter where Emma recently vacated. "What the boy said about the counter. About us almost having sex on a place where people eat."

Emma bursts into laughter. "Since when did Captain Hook care about where?"

"Since his girlfriend's son walked in on them almost…" he shrugs his shoulder.

"Well if only he knew about the couch," she smirks at him, flipping the sandwich on the fry pan.

Hook takes the bottle of rum from the fridge. No use in sleeping now that Emma's wide awake. And after Henry walking in on them, he wouldn't be able to fall asleep. Or for that matter, ever look at him ever again. Maybe if he bought him something to deter him what he saw. Emma's family sure does have bad timing when it comes to them being intimate.

"How are you feeling?" he asks between a swig of the rum.

Emma shrugs her shoulders. "As good as being over four months pregnant can feel. At least I've had practice with being pregnant before. It's like riding a bike. A very painful, expanding bike."

She smiles as soon as the cheese starts to melt. Her stomach growls from hunger as she reaches her hand into the chip bag. Shoving them in her mouth, Hook looks at her with dark eyes. "Is this really turning you on?"

"Um…" he pours himself some more rum. "Course not, love."

She slides into the seat across from him, ready to devour her grilled cheese. It seems as if her and Hook's baby also shares the love of melty cheese. Eating her sandwich in two bites, she places her hands on her protruding stomach. It feels so weird to be pregnant and have someone by her side during it. As much as she wishes Neal would have been by her side while she was pregnant with Henry, she realizes she may have never met Hook and had the life she has no with him in it. For that, she is insanely grateful for the turn of events. Even if those events may have been literal hell at the time.

"What do you think Gold's going to do with Gideon? Eventually Gideon will break from the cuff," Emma munches on chips, eying the bottle of rum. After a day like she had last week, she wishes she could drown her anxieties with alcohol.

Hook looks at her with hooded eyes, the alcohol slowly working its way into his system. "I wish I knew, love."

"You know what we should do," Emma scoots in closer as if about to tell him a secret. He loves the way she gets excited over such minuscule things. Especially since finding out she's pregnant, the light in her eyes have burned even brighter despite all the hell she's been through since. But nothing can deter his Swan from getting her happy ending. No matter what, she's a fighter. He's always known that about her.

"What's that?" he matches her smile.

She presses her hands against the table. "Take a weekend trip. You, me, Henry, it would be fun. Plus, I could show you more of the world than just Storybrooke."

"I've seen New York already, love. Bloody strange place that was," he recalls his couple of times in the strange city. First when he tried to kill the crocodile and then when he brought Emma back after the missing year. There's not too many fond memories of the world outside of Storybrooke.

She shakes her head. "We don't have to go there. Maybe to the beach somewhere in the south," he can tell she's getting discouraged. "Or not, it doesn't matter. We don't have to if you don't want to. Forget it; it was a stupid idea."

"Not a stupid idea at all. I would like that. You and your boy deserve some much-needed break. We should go. Perhaps this weekend? Make it spontaneous?"

The smile is back on her face when she nods at his suggestion. She gets up from her chair, dropping a kiss on top of his head as she throws the bag of chips away. "So…?"

"Yes, love?" he asks her even though he knows exactly what she wants by the way she's practically devouring him with her eyes.

"Meet me upstairs," she whispers before running up the stairs.

When the weekend comes, Emma finishes zipping her luggage. Her father was all aboard for Emma and Hook taking a weekend vacation and did not mind covering the police station while she was gone. Since things with Gideon have been tamed lately, Storybrooke has fallen into a lull. For that, everyone is grateful for.

"Need a hand, love?" Hook looks down at Emma sprawled on the floor, her back against the bed.

She reaches for his hand and he pulls her upright. He takes the luggage in his hand, going to load the car. They decided to visit a place called the Jersey Shore for the weekend. Emma says it's located in some state called New Jersey. All he knows is that it's a place where he has to wear things called swim trunks.

"Henry!" Emma calls from down the hall, resting her hand against her now-swollen stomach. In the past week, it's like she's gained twenty pounds.

He comes barreling out of his room with his duffel case slapping against his back. He eventually forgot about Hook and hers little rendezvous in the kitchen, but the poor kid could barely meet their eyes the next day. Not like she blamed him. When she walked in on her parents after returning from the Enchanted Forest the first time was enough to have her not look in their eyes for a couple of days.

"I can't believe we're finally going on a trip. We should go again after the baby is born."

Emma smiles at her son. She's glad that his happiness for the baby is there. At first it was hard for him to wrap his head around his mother having a child with Captain Hook's child. Sometimes it's even hard for her to believe it too. However, she knows Hook's going to be a wonderful dad. She has no doubts about that. Despite his hesitancies. Neither of them really know how to raise a child, so at least they'll succeed and fail as one.

"That's a good idea," she agrees.

Henry starts walking pass her. "Do you think…um…a wedding is possible sometime soon?"

Emma balks at her son. Sure Hook and her have talked about it, but they've never put it in cement. "I guess we'll see."

Hook presses his back against the hallway's wall as he quietly makes his escape down the stairs. He's thought about marrying Emma for as long as he can remember. In fact, he's had his sight on a beautiful ring for Emma. The perfect one that he knows she'll love. First he must talk to her father and Henry about marrying her. The least he can do is make sure he has their blessings.

Hook is waiting for the two of them by the car. He kisses Emma lightly on the lips, pressing his forehead against hers. She quirks her eyebrow at him as Henry slides into the car.

"What was that for?" she puts her hands against his chest.

"I just love you is all," he smiles at her.

She smiles back at him, getting into the driver's side. David has started taking Hook out to teach him how to drive, but for this road trip, she's doing all the driving. He isn't quite familiar with the outside world just yet. Plus, she doesn't exactly trust his driving yet either. But she won't tell him that.

"Everyone buckled?" she asks.

"Aye." "Yep!" Hook and Henry reply at the same time.

They drive for a couple hours before Emma has to stop to go to the bathroom and eat. It's like that for the rest of the day until they finally arrive to their hotel along the shoreline. Emma checks them in as Hook marvels at his surroundings. He's like a fish out of the water here. His hook has been replaced with a prosthetic hand, and Emma can't help but miss his hook. He's even wearing a hoodie that David let him borrow with his normal, skin tight black jeans. The earring and eyeliner are still on. As are his rings and necklace. Can't take the pirate out of him all the way.

The front desk girl gives her two key cards as she eyes Hook from where he stands across the lobby from then, Henry and him observing the fish tank. A flash of jealousy rushes through Emma. She's never been that kind of girl, but she can't help being annoyed by the way the girl is looking at him.

"He's cute, huh?" Emma goads the girl. She can't be older than twenty.

The girl smirks at Emma. "Certainly wouldn't kick him out the morning after."

"Babe?" Emma calls Hook from across the room. "Mind taking my bag?"

"Not a problem, love."

The girl gapes at Emma as Hook comes towards them. He bends down to pick up Emma's bags. "I know I certainly don't," she tells the girl before walking away.

Hook walks beside Emma, casting her a curious glance. "What was that about?"

"I didn't like how she was looking at you," she crosses her arms over her chest, stopping before they come within hearing distance of Henry.

"Jealous are you Swan?" he wiggles his eyebrows at you.

She smacks him on the arm, calling for Henry to meet them over by the lobby elevator. They descend to their room in silence, the long drive has driven Emma to utter exhaustion. She's not used to driving so far. And she's certainly not used to doing it while pregnant. She just wants to lie down and watch some trashy reality show. It's only eight, but she feels like it's past midnight.

"Can we go swimming in the hotel pool?" Henry throws his bag down onto the opposite bed.

Emma lies down, her hand against her stomach. Hook, thankfully, answers before she can reject the idea. "I can take you, lad. We'll let your mother rest up. Go on and change into your trunks."

He unzips their luggage and searches for his own trunks. Emma said they are used to go swimming. Hook always preferred sailing on the water as opposed to being in the water. For Henry's sake, he can suffice being in the water for a little bit. Plus, he doesn't want to bore the lad as his mother lies on the bed watching TV. They went on this trip for some adventure that doesn't involve monsters chasing after them.

Henry comes running out with his trunks on, and Hook retreats to the bathroom to change. "You sure you don't want to come, Mom."

"I'm sorry, Henry. Your brother or sister doesn't seem to want to let me go," she purses her lips out.

"It's okay," Henry says.

She hates how much she hasn't been able to spend time with him lately. She feels like the worst mother alive. "As soon as this baby is out of me, I promise to be a better mom."

He shakes his head at her. "You're a great mom."

This brings tears to her eyes. Hook walks out of the bathroom in his dark blue trunks. Her eyes meet his as she gives him a watery smile of reassurance. He always assumes the worse when she cries. Her hormones are just in a tizzy lately.

"You boys have fun."

Hook grabs a shirt to pull over his head, kissing Emma atop her head. "Rest up, love." He puts his hand on her belly. "Let your mom get some rest, darling."

Her heart swells at him talking to their baby. It's the first time he's actually done that. She grabs him by his necklace, pulling him down to her lips. Kissing him, Henry clears his throat from by the door. "Really, guys?"

"Sorry, lad." Hook is still staring into Emma's eyes. "Someday you'll understand."

Emma grabs onto his hand when he starts walking away. "If any girl tries to flirt with you-"

"I'll tell them how I have a pregnant girlfriend who will surely kick their ass. Got you, Swan."

She chuckles as she watches her boys walk out of the room. By the time nine rolls around her eyes are already closed. About an hour later, she hears the two of them walk back into the room, laughing. She smiles in her sleep at how much the two of them have grown in their relationship. Henry wasn't all too keen on her dating the former villain, but he's warmed up to him now. She knows not only will Hook make a great dad to their unborn child, but she knows he'll make a wonderful step father to Henry.

Her eyes close as she feels Hook's side of the bed dip down, and he puts his arms around her. She leans into him as she feels his lips kiss her neck before falling asleep himself. And she knows in that moment, it's the calm before the storm.


	14. Chapter 14

**Ok soooo I hadn't expected to write the last part, but it just kinda came to me randomly because I feel like that story needs an ending. I'm planning on there only being about 3 chapters left of this fic. I appreciate all the comments, faves, etc!**

Emma's stomach and patience is growing with each passing week. She is now 6 and a half months pregnant. As far as she knows, Gideon is under a spell that's keeping him from going after her. Hopefully Gold knows what he's doing with his own son.

"Ughhhh!" Emma rests her face on the desk at the Sheriff's station. On top of her uncomfortableness of being pregnant, she also has to deal with the heat wave that has befallen Storybrooke. Seriously, 85 degrees in April should be illegal.

David walks into her office with his hand on his gun upholster. He gives his daughter a worried look. He's been even more overprotective than ever. Even more so than when Hook had his sights on Emma in Neverland. Obviously his overprotectiveness was not so effective in that case. Emma is more than thankful for that.

"Why don't you go home? It's slow today, and you could use the rest," he puts his hand on her shoulder.

Emma shakes her head, picking her head up from the desk. If she hates one thing about being pregnant, it's everyone walking on shells around her. Just because she's pregnant does not make her incapable of working or doing things she normally would do. Unless it's cleaning. Whenever she starts cleaning, Hook swoops in and tells her to sit down. She's totally okay with that, but everything else, she is more than capable of doing. Until she's put on bedrest by Wale, she will continue to work. Even if that means doing more paperwork than going out to solve any problems that arise.

"Hate to upset you Dad, but I'm staying."

He gives her a wry smile before backing out of the office. He knows there's no point in fighting with her about it. Emma looks up to see Hook walk through the door, slapping David on the back. The two men talk for a beat before they both glance through the window of her office. She can only imagine what her father is telling Hook. Mentally cursing her father, she slams the record book close in time to greet Hook when he walks into her office.

"What's up?" she asks him.

He quirks an eyebrow at her. "Swan, aren't you…um. Underdressed for work?"

She rolls her eyes, putting her hand on her swollen stomach. She may have taken her tshirt off and is now only wearing a tank, but it's too damn hot in the office. Her stomach is hardly spilling from the top. "I'm hot."

"But your still on the clock, love."

"So what?" she snaps. "You don't know how it feels to be almost seven months pregnant. My body heat is probably ten times higher than yours right now. Did you only come her to nag me? Do YOU want to carry our baby? No; you can't so I am!"

Hook lets out a sigh. Like David, he knows arguing with her while she has one of these mood swings is moot. "No, I came because something came up, and I need your help."

Getting up from her chair with more effort than usual, she walks over to him. Leaning against the desk, she gestures for him to explain what he needs help with. Usually he's pretty self-sufficient and rarely asks for her assistance with anything.

"It's at the convent. Someone stole a memory potion from Blue's stash."

Emma grabs her shirt from her desk, slipping it back on. "Whoever stole it can't be using it for good."

Hook follows after her, grabbing her by the elbow gently. "Let me come with you."

She manages to suppress the annoyance she feels. Of course he would want to go to ensure she was being safe and not doing anything that could put her life or the baby's in possible danger. She knows better that that though. "I work alone."

Hook starts to protest, but Emma cuts a glare in his direction. Despite her instructions for him to let her go alone, he follows after her. She'll just have him wait in the car then. She can't have him hovering over when she needs to do her job and find out who stole the memory potion and why.

Driving up to the convent, Emma slams her car door shut. Hook gets out and Emma rushes over to him, removing the handcuffs from her pocket. She takes his hand in hers, quickly handcuffing his hand to the car handle.

"What the bloody hell, Emma?" he yells after her as she runs up the stairs.

Walking into the lobby, the fairies are all gathered around Blue. The cabinet where the potion must have been sitting is opened and the other potions are scattered on the floor. Blue walks over to Emma, glancing down at her stomach.

"Emma, it was definitely Gold. His dark magic is all over this cabinet. We had thought it was protected enough from the likes of him, but somehow he managed to break through our spell," Blue explains to her.

Inspecting the cabinet, Emma sighs. The last person she wants to go to is Gold. Gideon is probably hanging around wherever he is. Even Emma knows it's too dangerous for her and the baby to go anywhere near Gideon. Telling Blue she'll take care of it, she runs into a hard body. Staring down at her with angry eyes is Hook. She should have known handcuffing a pirate would do no good. He probably used his hook to get out of the hold. Serves her right for handcuffing his hand instead of his hook.

"I'm not going to yell at you for what you did, but we are going to talk about this later," he says a bit darkly than she would expect out of him these days. He's been so caring and tender to her lately.

She gives him a small smile. "The baby made me do it," she says sheepishly. She knows using her baby is wrong, but it might help soften her angry pirate.

They bound down the steps back to the car. Emma explains to Hook that it was Gold who broke into the fairy's potion cabinet. Hook starts to tell her that he forbids her from going after him, but she cuts him. She already texted David to go scope things out.

Returning home because maybe David was right and she needs some rest, she lies on the couch with her hand on her belly. Hook sits down beside her, lifting her feet onto his lap. He begins messaging her feet. Good, he let go of her handcuffing him while she investigated.

"So about those handcuffs, love…"

She lifts her head up a little so she can see his face. It isn't filled with anger anymore but she does recognize the annoyance in his voice. "These hormones make me do some crazy things."

"No, Emma. It wasn't your hormones this time. This is you shutting me out from a part of your life. Why?"

She hadn't realized it would spark such a strong chord as it seems to be doing. "Work…Killian, it's the only place where it's my thing."

He hesitates for a moment. "I just thought that we could do it together while you're pregnant. But if you don't like me around at work, then that's fine."

She rests her head back against the couch. She feels hot again and grabs for the magazine on the coffee table. Fanning herself with it, there's a loud crashing noise outside of their house. Bolting upright, Hook pulls her the rest of the way up with his hook. They round the house to see what it was that caused the noise, but there's nothing in sight.

"What the hell was that?" Emma asks Hook.

"I could tell you what it was, Savior," a female voice says from behind the trees. The voice sounds oddly familiar to Emma.

"Lily?" Emma whispers.

From behind the trees comes Emma's former friend, Lily. She gives Emma and Hook a menacing smile, looking down at Emma's protruding stomach. "Sure nice to see you knocked up with a pirate's baby."

"I-I don't understand," Emma says. She thought Lily and her made amends after she helped her find her mother.

Hook pulls Emma tighter to his side, lifting the sword from his belt into his hand. Always ready for a fight. Lily laughs.

"It was a great thing you did for my mom and me. Reuniting a mother and daughter. Hopefully one day your little bundle of joy might be reunited with you."

"You plan to take our child?" Hook asks. "Over my dead body."

Emma puts her hand protectively over her stomach. One villain going after her child was enough, but a second one made it all worse. She doesn't know if she'll be able to save her child when two people were out to take her baby from her.

"Why are you doing this?" Emma manages to hold back her sob.

"Isn't it obvious, Emma? You got the happy ending that I never did."


	15. Chapter 15

**Next chapter will be the last chapter of this fic. Well, one more chapter and an epilogue. Thanks for reading! :)**

Slamming the door shut, Emma begins to pace back and forth in her kitchen. She should have never brought Lily to Storybrooke. For once, she should have left things along and stop messing with everyone's fate. This was her fault; Lily never wanted to find her mom in the first place.

"I know what you're thinking, Swan, and this isn't your fault," Hook puts his hand on her shoulder but she brushes it off, too upset to accept comfort.

Stalling for a moment, she flashes her tear streaked face in Hook's direction. "Don't try to convince otherwise, Killian. I never wanted to be the Savior and be responsible for everyone's happy ending. Look how it's backfiring on me!"

Hook clenches his jaw. He knows more than anyone how much Emma has been through her whole life. He thought she'd finally come to terms with being the Savior and accepting her fate. He also knows she's too strong to sit idly by and let Lily take their baby from them. She's hurting, but she should have a clear mind for this.

"You're hurting, and I get that, but you need to relax because we have to defeat this dragon."

Emma runs a hand through her mused hair. "It's just one battle after another. I don't want this for our child."

Hook takes a hesitant step towards her. "Then let's settle this once and for all."

"You really think I can do it?"

He tilts his head at her, not believing her second guessing herself. "Of course I do, love. You're one of the strongest person I know, and I have no doubt that you can rid Storybrooke of any villain and keep our child safe."

She gives him a watery smile, thankful she has him in her life when she never thought she'd love again. "I love you."

"Aye, and I you. Now let's go kick some dragon ass."

"Gold!" Emma screams when she slams his door shut. "Get the hell out here."

Gold comes from behind the curtain with an amused expression on his face. "Nice to see you again."

"Let's cut the crap. Lily wants to take my baby and kill me."

"I thought my son did as well."

Hook rolls his eyes. "Instead of playing who's killing who, let's deal with more pressing issues her. Like Emma facing a crazy dragon."

"For example," Emma presses both hands on the counter, "What are you doing with a memory position that you stole from Blue?"

For once, Gold looks genuinely surprised at the accusation. "The what?"

"Blue said the cabinet to which the potion was stolen had your bloody magic all over it!" Hook says with a locked jaw.

Gideon walks out with Belle in tow, a look of anguish across his face. Hook puts a protective arm in front of Emma. Emma's hand begins to spark with magic. Belle gives a genuine look of concern at Emma and Hook.

"What's going on?" she asks.

"Malificent's daughter, Lily, seems to be after Miss Swan and her child."

Belle's mouth opens slightly. "How come?"

"You tell me," Emma shoots, looking behind Belle to her son. "Want to say anything, Dark One Jr?"

Gideon, for once, looks innocent of doing anything. He points to the cuff on his wrist that Gold had put onto him. "Without my powers, there's not much I can do."

"No, but you could be hiring someone to do your biding," Hook concludes.

"I know how you must view by son, but he's been with me at the library every day this week. He's changing; he wants to be good," Belle quickly defends her son.

Emma knows how honest Belle is, but she wants to see the best in everyone. She believed in Gold when nobody else did and it hardly did her any good. He's still the same villain he was before. No amount of hope from his wife will do him any good. She can't trust her instinct when Gideon was just trying to murder her the other day. Nobody changes that fast.

"Belle, I know how much you want to believe that-" Emma starts but she's cut off.

"She's telling the truth," they all turn around to the sound of Blue's voice. "It wasn't Gold's magic; it was Malificent's."

Hook clenches his fist at his side. Emma leans against the counter, feeling faint. The baby is due in less than two months. Time is ticking away, and she has to defeat Lily before she can do anything with her child.

"How do we defeat them?" Gold asks for Emma, surprised at his desperation in his voice.

"Well," Blue comes towards them, "I have this potion that can send them to the wish realm."

Emma winces at the mention of the wish realm. She'd rather forget about that place if she could. "Then let's do it."

Blue smiles gently at Emma. "Emma, your powers are too hectic to help with this. We need someone else to do it. Maybe Gold or even Regina."

As much as Emma would love to do it herself, she knows Blue's right. She hates putting all her faith in Regina and Gold to get rid of the threats, but she needs to think about her future. "I'll ask Regina."

Hook pauses Emma by grabbing her by the arm. "I think we need to discuss this before we go along with the plan."

"I'm sorry, Killian, but we have to do this. There's nothing to discuss."

With one last look, Emma walks out the door to find Regina. This ends now.


	16. Chapter 16

**Next chapter will be my last chapter. An epilogue! Thanks to all that have read, commented, faved, etc. I do this for fun, but still means lots!**

"You've defeated her before, and I need you to do it again," Emma demands of Regina.

Regina shoos Henry off to his room for this discussion. "You have the potion with you? And where is the pirate?"

Emma leans against the counter, the exertion from today wearing down on her. The baby bump is also getting in the way. If she wasn't so damned pregnant she would do this herself, but Blue told her it'd be best for the baby if she didn't use her magic. However, she didn't say anything about going with as a form of distraction.

"Killian's…somewhere," she frowns, wondering why he didn't follow her to Regina's. He knew she was coming here.

Regina arches an eyebrow at her. "Let me tell Henry to go to Mary Margaret and David's house while we send some dragons through a portal."

"Sounds like a great plan," Emma says in acknowledgment.

As the two women walk out of the house, they feel the ground start to shake. It feels like an earthquake, but those aren't all too common in Maine. Emma glances at Regina with panic as they both say "what the hell?"

Regina and Emma get into the car, sporadically pausing as the ground beneath starts to shake again. They get to the main street where they see Mal and Lily in their dragon forms. And in front of them: Killian and Gold. Emma's out of the car before Regina even has a chance to put it in park, yelling after her. Pregnant belly or not, Killian's in great danger. She curses him in her head, wondering what the hell he was thinking. She was the one with the potion. How did he think he would defeat the two dragons? Just then Emma pats around furiously in her jacket for the potion, but to no avail, doesn't find it.

"Emma!" Killian calls to her, panic resonating in his voice. "Get out of here; it's not safe for you or the baby!"

Emma stands back as Lily swoops in to knock Killian off his feet. He lands hard against the road, but Gold raises his hand and is able to freeze her in place. Mal comes over to Emma, morphing back into her human form.

"Hello, Savior," she smiles menacingly.

Regina is running, shooting Mal with her magic. She flies back, landing near to where Killian is still on the ground.

"Regina!" Gold calls across the road. "I need your help to keep Lily at bay."

She rushes over to Gold as Emma makes her way to Killian's side. She kneels down beside him, brushing the hair from his eyes. His breathing is slow, and he has a gash on the side of his head. Feeling the rush of tears coming up, Emma leans her head against his chest.

"Don't leave me!" she sobs into him. "You can't, Killian. Our future. Our child. Please."

"Love," he manages to say between his pain. "You need this," he hands her the potion. Just as she takes it, she's hit over the head and the world goes dark.

Xoxoxox

Awaking with the sounds of beeping in the distance, Emma blinks her eyes a few times. Killian is beside her with a relieved smile on her face. His gash has a large bandage over it, but other than that, he seems to be in good condition.

"How long have I been out?" she blinks rapidly against the brightness of the lights. Reaching up, she feels the large bump on her head from whatever Mal knocked her out with. Thankfully all she's rocking right now is a headache and nothing more severe. Though, she feels like she may have been unconscious for quite some time.

"A few hours, but I knew nothing is powerful enough to keep the Savior down. Whale says the baby is doing well too," he kisses her lightly on her head and she closes her eyes.

"What…" she swallows, "happened?" She doesn't mean with her hospitalization, but with the two villains trying to take her baby.

"Well love," he smirks down at her. "You ca n't keep a pirate down after a dragon bashes his love over the head with a rock. Had to teach them a lesson."

Emma can't help but laugh at him wagging her eyebrows at him. "I love you."

"I know, Swan and I love you. Listen," he pulls a black box from the back of his jeans. "I know I already knocked you up, and this isn't how a man should propose to a princess but…"

Sitting up in bed, Emma smiles so hard that her face might break. "I don't care where or how you propose."

"I will never understand why you took a chance on me and let me into your life, but I am so glad you did. Because each day, I fall more in love with you. I want to spend every moment with you making you happy. So, will you, Emma Swan, do me the honor of being my wife?"

Sticking her hand out to him, she nods her head with tears gathering in her eyes. "Yes, Killian, yes!"

Pulling her to him, she kisses him with as much love as she can muster. The door opens and her mother rushes over to her first, taking her hand in hers. She gapes at the engagement ring on her hand pulls Emma in for a hug. David pats Hook on the back, beaming down at his daughter.

"I'm impressed," Henry observes the ring on his mother's ring. "Who knew Captain Hook had it in him to pick out a wedding ring?"

"Ah, you underestimate me, mate."

Snow is rambling on about the wedding, asking Emma where she thinks she wants to have the wedding. All Emma can think about at the moment is giving birth to their child and then contemplating which kind of place settings she wants.

"Mom, I think I want to wait until after the baby is born," she confesses.

Snow looks taken a back but quickly regains her composure and smiles at her daughter. "Doesn't matter when. All that matters is that you found a man who loves you and will do anything for you."

"We want to thank you, Hook," David says. "For putting those dragons through the portal. Without you, we may never have been able to see Emma give birth to your child."

Hook looks surprised at the thank you. "That means a lot, mate."

"You're still not off the hook for getting my daughter pregnant before you two got married."

"Dad!" Emma gasps out, heating emanating her face.

He raises his hands in mock surrender. "Hey, I'm just being a father. Give me some slack; I didn't get to scare off any of your boyfriends when you were a teenager."

"And thank God for that," Emma mutters, throwing her legs off the bed. She can't stand to stay another minute in this bed. Not exactly how she planned to spend the night when she just got engaged.

"How about we all go to Grannys for a celebration dinner?" Henry suggests.

"Good idea, lad. I could use a bite to eat," Hook reaches out to take Emma's hand in his.

Emma clasps his hand in hers, thankful for all the things he's done for her. She has to admit, she knew when they climbed the beanstalk that he was more than a villain hell-bent on revenge. She had hoped for him to prove her wrong, and he did.

"Maybe we can celebrate alone later," she suggests on their way out, earning a glare from her father who she didn't know was in earshot of her comment. "Sorry…"


	17. Chapter 17

**Well, this tale has come to an end. I hope you all enjoyed it! I had fun writing it, but some things must come to an end. Hope it wrapped things up! :)**

"Henry! Can you come take your sister for me?" Emma calls to Henry upstairs.

She bounces her two month old on her hip, cooing to her to calm her down. Killian still isn't home, and she tends to only be calm in his arms. Trying to calm her to no avail, Henry comes jogging down the stairs to take his baby sister. He's a great brother to her, and she knows he loves her more than anything. He's already reading her stories for his storybook. Mostly the story of Killian and her.

"Emma," Killian kisses her atop the head with a bag of groceries in hand. "Your mother talks a lot."

She takes one of the bags from his hand. No wonder why he took so long at the grocery store-her mother was there. "It just means she likes you."

"Where's my princess?" he asks, his eyes flashing to the empty highchair.

Emma points to the living room where Henry is bouncing his sister on his lap. He's lightly singing her something she can't quite make out from her place in the kitchen. Leaning against the doorframe, Emma smiles as Killian takes his daughter from Henry. When she was first born, he was scared to even touch her. After he held her for the first time though, he was hooked. She was his princess.

"Hello, love," Killian kisses his daughter on the forehead. "Are you hungry, Evelyn?"

After much consideration, Killian and Emma decided to name their daughter after Snow's mom. Well, a rendition of her name. Her full name is Evelyn Ruth Jones. Ruth for her father's mother. Just like her father, Evie's hair is a stark black, but she has Emma's green eyes. She has an attitude like no other which she gets from both of their parents. She's going to be a handful when she gets older.

"She just ate," Emma comments from her place in the doorway.

Killian smiles up at her. They married two weeks ago. Emma wanted to lose some of the baby weight before she walked down the aisle. Much to her surprise, she was able to fit into the wedding gown that she bought a few weeks after Killian proposed. Between running around with the baby, being sheriff also helps with the weight loss. Resting her head on the doorframe, she nearly forgets about the water she started to boil. Looking down at the wedding ring on her finger, she still finds herself not believing that this is her life.

When she was a teenager, she never would have imagined this white-picket fence-life. Especially not how things were going only a couple of months ago with Gideon and then Lily. Speaking of Gideon, he's been turning over a new leaf. Belle has a lot to do with that; she saw the good in her son and knew he could change. As of now, no harm has been down by the Dark One's son. For that, Emma is more than thankful.

"Mom, do you need some help?" Henry asks her from his place on the couch. Besides him his Killian, leaning back with Evelyn resting on his chest. Her heart swells at the sight of the three of them.

She shakes her head. "I'm okay, kid."

The door opens with her mother, father and brother who is now wobbling on his feet. She waves to them with her wooden spoon from the stovetop. David goes straight to Killian to hold his granddaughter. Evelyn has taken to the men in her life more than the women it would seem. Snow sets down the dessert she made with a loud sigh.

"Neal's teething and it's a nightmare. I can't believe I had to miss that with you," she tells Emma.

Emma rolls her eyes. "I can tell you're being sarcastic."

Snow sits down at the dinner table as Emma sets the timer for the spaghetti noodles. She's never been much of a cook, so this will have to do for their family dinner. Every Saturday they all get together, rotating houses. Regina and Zelena are in charge of drinks tonight whenever they decide to show up.

"Have you been sleeping?"

Emma slumps down in the chair. She hasn't been sleeping as much as she liked to, but she doesn't mind. Evelyn is worth the long nights. Plus, Killian is more than willing to soothe their baby back to sleep when she's fussy. In fact, Evelyn probably prefers her husband over her.

"Not too much, but I feel good."

Snow puts her hand on top of Emma's. "You deserve this life, Emma. I am so happy you found your happy ending."

Killian walks into the kitchen with Evelyn on his hip. Snow reaches out to take her, Killian willingly handing her over. He kisses Emma lightly on the lips. "You okay in here, love?"

Gazing up at her husband, she nods her head. "Yes, babe."

"What are you thinking about? You have that look in your eyes."

Getting up to stir the noodles, she shakes her head. "Nothing really. Just how happy I am."

"Aye," he stands beside her. "It's exactly what you deserve."

That night, Emma realizes that her life may not be a fairy tale in the least, but it's pretty dang perfect. She wouldn't have it any other way.


End file.
